Play With Me
by HJfan
Summary: AU Finchel. "It just felt awkward to see you again, under these circumstances. I just wasn't expecting it. Like you mentioned, we hadn't seen each other since that day and then all of a sudden you were there – at my work place with your brother and I just didn't know how to react."
1. Chapter 1

**This is a story that I have been writing for a long time but I wanted to wait to post it because of my other stories. Thanks FinchelGleek4ever and LeaMyGoldStar for beta-ing this fic and I hope you guys like it!**

**Note #1: I've been writing this fic long before this season of Glee so none of the new characters from S4 are in this story. **

******Note #2: Finn is a few years older than Rachel.**

**Chapter 1**

It was definitely not the job of her dreams; it wasn't even on her top 10 list of jobs she'd be interested in doing. She didn't want to sound ungrateful because like it or not, it paid the bills. And there were quite a few of them, she had reminded herself when she applied for this job.

The main issue is that things hadn't gone exactly how she had planned after she had graduated college. At this point, it felt like plan Z, due to her many unsuccessful attempts. Perhaps she was exaggerating a little bit - or maybe not.

She was struggling to find a job that she was qualified for, but she realized that with her talents, people should be begging her to work for them.

Rachel didn't know how she had gotten this job in the first place either. In high school she was always picked on by the kids because of the way she dressed. They would make fun of her animal print sweaters and high knee socks. She never really cared about it but now it made her wonder why the manager had hired her. Her style hadn't improved that much, she could admit that to herself.

Her manager said she hired Rachel because she was very eloquent and persuasive. She had also told her that she had a 1000 watt smile and she strived for friendly employees. That would make sense if it wasn't for the fact that one of the saleswomen was a bleach blonde nightmare who always bitched about everything and liked to mess with Rachel and give her death glares.

While she was in college, Rachel had a few different jobs but only temporary things since she wanted to focus on her studies and auditions alongside her vocal training and dance classes.

Her dads didn't like the fact that their daughter balanced college with work. They had always told her that they could pay for all her expenses but Rachel didn't like to depend on her dads for everything. Rachel thought they were doing a lot already by paying her steep tuition.

After college, she decided to not accept her fathers' money anymore. She found a small apartment to share with a girl she had met in college. The only problem was that a couple of months after they had settled in their apartment, her roommate left to live with her new boyfriend and left Rachel to pay the bills by herself.

Rachel didn't dare tell her dads that and thankfully she found work and managed to live by herself without having to find another roommate, which would only cause more trouble, Rachel concluded.

When she had started this new job, Rachel had hoped that it would only be a temporary job, but the most recent event made her think otherwise...

* * *

"Finn, you can't shop here, I mean this store is just full of tacky, overpriced clothes. Honestly, these are dreadful." Kurt asked looking at the shop window, making a disgusted face. "Do you really want to buy your mother disgusting clothes?"

"Of course not," Finn quickly denied, annoyed by his step brother. He hated shopping, let alone with Kurt. And he hated it even more to buy a present for somebody else. He was definitely not the guy for that, but it was for his mom so he'd make this sacrifice for her.

"Can we go buy her some jewelry?" Finn suggested, trying to find a better alternative. _Buy something shiny and you're set!_ He thought.

"No. My dad is already buying her a matching earrings and necklace set." Kurt shot down his idea.

"How can a woman have too much jewelry?" Finn asked with a frown.

"You have a point," Kurt conceded, but before Finn could celebrate his victory his step brother continued. "But Carole is in serious need of a new wardrobe and you're gonna buy a beautiful dress for her with my help." Kurt finished pointing to himself.

Finn couldn't help but roll his eyes at the response, even though Kurt was right. "Fine." He huffed, knowing he had lost the battle.

They kept walking through the floors of the mall, at every clothing store, Kurt would stop and look at the type of clothes the store had before giving a look of disapproval and continued his stroll. Finn was tired of watching the same scene for the past hour. How could it be so hard to find a dress for his mom?

They did enter in a few stores but as soon as Kurt passed his eyes through the hangers, he would mutter "there's nothing in here" and then he'd turn on his heels and walk out the door. Finn had no idea how his brother did that, it was like he had x-ray vision for fashion or something.

They had started from the top and made their way to the bottom floor of the mall, so right now they were about to head to the second floor.

"And what are you gonna give to my mom, Mr. Fashionista?" Finn inquired, as they used the stairwell.

"A gorgeous pair of boots that hopefully will be perfect to use with the dress you're gonna buy for her."

When they passed by the fifth store, Kurt abruptly stopped in tracks and Finn who was following behind him distracted, almost tripped over the shorter man.

"What the hell, man?" Finn exclaimed confused.

"It looks like I might find something interesting in here." Kurt stated contently.

"Finally." Finn sighed in relief. "Let's go inside then."

The two men walked inside the clothing store and Kurt quickly made his way to the left side where there was the dress section on the hangers. Finn stayed next to the wall, feeling a little awkward standing there - not that he didn't feel awkward in general - but the fact that he was the only guy besides Kurt in the store, and he had no idea what he was doing there – it made him feel a little uncomfortable.

_He'd have preferred to buy clothes in a department store._ Finn thought to himself.

* * *

She had seen him the moment when he had entered into the store with the other man, a friend she supposed. She tried to hold herself together but inside she was freaking out.

She knew she was supposed to be attending them since all the other saleswomen were busy but she was silently praying that they'd leave without asking for any help.

"Excuse me, what other colors do you have of this dress?" She heard the guy with an almost feminine kind of voice ask to a saleswoman who had passed by him.

"Let me go see for you." The woman responded with a bright smile.

When the two men turned around to her direction, she quickly hid herself behind the counter.

"Hey Quinn, can you attend those guys over there?" Brittany asked to the other blonde.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" Quinn snapped. "Why don't you go ask man hands?"

"But where is she?" Brittany asked, her blue eyes searching around the store for the petite brunette.

"She was by the counter." Quinn motioned dismissively with her hand, not even bothering to look at where she had pointed.

Not seeing anyone there, Brittany walked behind the counter and almost tripped on something. "What are you doing here?" She asked looking at the woman sitting on the floor, hiding behind the counter.

"I-I'm" Rachel stammered, trying to find an excuse. "I was looking for these price tags." She responded, cringing at her own lame excuse. Her teacher from acting class would totally reprove her if he had seen her right now.

Brittany dismissed it though. "This is not the time. I need your help." The blonde offered a hand which she reluctantly accepted, standing up slowly, only hoping that a certain person was not looking at their direction anymore.

To her luck - or lack of it - he was. And while she wasn't looking in his direction, she heard him call her name.

"Rachel?" She could hear the sound of shock in his voice. She had to admit she was surprised that he actually remembered her name after months had passed.

"Oh cool. You guys know each other?" Brittany asked excitedly, completely unaware of the awkwardness in the air.

"You could say that." Finn responded with a crooked grin, his eyes still locked on the petite brunette.

"Great. I guess you can help them then," Brittany said to a still silent Rachel.

"Good, cause I was not getting a good vibe from blondie." Kurt whispered so only Finn could hear. Rachel heard it too though, and at another time she would totally laugh at the comment but right now she was not in the mood for jokes.

"Go, go." Brittany shushed her and Rachel reluctantly stepped from behind the counter.

She watched as Finn's eyes bulged instantly as he looked down. Kurt's eyes did the same and his mouth hang open.

"Are you-?" Finn asked.

"Yes." Somehow she found her voice to answer him, her eyes fixed on his face while he kept looking at her stomach area.

"Oh my God." Rachel heard Kurt shriek.

All Rachel wanted to do in that moment was run far away from there, but her feet stayed glued to the ground.

* * *

**AN: What do you guys think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for the reviews! **

**Chapter 2**

Rachel wanted to scream at the person who made those uniforms or even her boss – for making her wear it.

Her bump was barely showing, but the top she had to wear was so tight that you could see the outline of her stomach. She didn't realize it was that visible until now. All she wanted to do was scream and cry at the same time.

"How far along are you?" She heard somebody ask, but wasn't sure who it was.

"Three months" Brittany was quick to answer; Rachel glared at the blonde woman wondering why she was still there.

"I – Can we go somewhere to talk?" Finn asked, since they were still standing in the middle of the women's store.

"I don't know Finn, I'm working," Rachel stated, trying to decline.

"You can go, Rachel. You only have twenty minutes until your lunch break; I don't mind I can totally cover for you." Brittany smiled as Rachel returned a tight one.

"Thanks." She said through gritted teeth. Rachel knew Brittany wanted to help, but she wasn't helping at all.

"Ok then, let me grab my purse," she said, walking to the back of the store. When she returned, she could see the other sales women eyeing her, as they whispered to each other probably talking about her. As she passed her blonde friend, she whispered "You owe me" and winked.

Rachel wanted to cry at that moment. That was so embarrassing.

The three of them walked outside to an empty bench, Rachel sat down with Finn sitting next to her, while Kurt stood in front of them. _Even though Finn was still in shock, he realized that he hadn't introduced Rachel to his brother, so he took the opportunity to do so._

"Rachel, this is my brother Kurt. Kurt this is Rachel."

"It's nice to meet you Kurt," she smiled, which he replied by reaching his hand out to shake hers.

"So when did you find out?" Finn asked as he turned to face her.

"About a month ago… I tried to find a way to contact you, but I didn't know anything besides your name."

"Sorry for leaving without talking to you." Finn apologized sheepishly.

"I can't believe you did that!" Kurt said, slapping Finn on the arm.

"Ouch!" Finn groaned, rubbing his arm. "I had a meeting and I got called in early, so I had to leave quickly!" Finn said, trying to justify himself.

"What about a condom? Did you forget how to use one?" Kurt argued.

"We did! I-I don't know what happened," Finn retorted.

Seeing the two brothers argue made Rachel feel a little out of place, and in a way, she felt guilty for bringing trouble to Finn's life and consequently, his family's too.

"Look Finn, you don't need to be involved if you don't want to." Rachel said.

"What? Of course I do! Rachel, this baby is just as much as my responsibility as it is yours. I'm going to be there for both of you." He responded firmly.

"I don't want you to feel obligated."

"I want to. Really"

"Besides, his mom wouldn't let him abandon his child, my dad either." Kurt pointed out.

"Okay then," she nodded as she looked between the two guys "Listen, I really need to get going, it's my lunch time and I'm hungry." She stated, standing up from the bench.

"Wait! Can I go with you?" Finn stood up quickly, stopping her. "So we can talk some more?"

"Sure."

"I'll leave you two alone. I'm gonna go back to the store and pick the dress I liked and then I'm gonna head home. Call me when you tell the news to Carole." Kurt said with a little smirk and Finn only glared at his brother.

At the food area, Finn and Rachel sat opposite each other, after Rachel had ordered her food and set the tray on the table. She asked if he was going to eat anything but he said he was fine, she only shrugged off before started eating her food, she was hungry and she was eating for two after all.

"So you work at that store?" He asked lamely, trying to start a conversation as he watched her eat.

"Yes, I do. But it's something temporary." At least that was what she hoped, Rachel mused to herself.

"You don't like it there?" Finn speculated

"No, it's not that. It's just that I had other plans and once I found out I was pregnant I had to change some of them and delay others" Rachel explained

"I'm sorry for that. It's my fault." Finn apologized.

"There's no one to blame. It happened."

"Yeah but I helped it to happen."

"Let's not focus on that, okay? There are more important things to think about," she suggested. She had already spent many nights awake blaming herself for what happened and it sure didn't help her.

"You're right. I'm sorry," Finn nodded in agreement. "Have you told your parents yet?" he wondered; worrying about his mom's reaction, when he tells her that she's going to be a Grandma. He didn't even know how he was going to tell her; even though he knew he would have to tell her sooner or later, although he would have preferred the later, to be honest, but he knew he could not be picky at this point.

"Yes," she nodded as took another bite of food.

"How did they take it?"

"They took it well. I mean, they were not entirely pleased at first, but they have always supported me and when I told them that I was going to keep it, they were one hundred percent behind me." She smiled, at the thought of her dads and their love and support "I have two gay dads." She informed him.

"That's cool. My brother is too. Gay, I mean," He supplied.

"I figured." She smiled; "Do you have any other siblings?"

""No other siblings, just Kurt. He's my step-brother. My mom met Kurt's dad when we were in high school." He told her. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

"No, I'm an only child."

"Your fathers probably want to kill me for impregnate their only daughter." Finn winced at the thought.

She shook her head. "I told them that I didn't know where the baby's father was."

"Ugh – that only makes things worse," Finn groaned, dropping his head into his hands, which made Rachel chuckle.

Hearing her laugh, Finn looked up. "Sorry." She said, putting her hand over her mouth.

"It's fine. I guess it will be amusing to see your dads go after me" his comment made her laugh even harder; letting her head fall back. He thought she had a pretty laugh and she looked cute all red, he couldn't help but laugh as well.

After recomposing herself, Rachel stated "You know, my dads are very protective, but they're not that bad."

"I'm sure I am not their favorite guy."

"They don't know you."

"And the little they know doesn't favor me either," He supplied.

"Your family won't be happy to see me either."

"I don't even know how am I gonna tell it to my mom." Finn said, rubbing his neck. "Do you want to go with me?"

"What? Talk to your family? No way! Finn, you need to tell them by yourself. Believe me; it's best to be honest. I felt more relieved after I told my dads the news"

"I guess you're right."

They talked for a while longer, while she finished eating. She looked at her phone to check the time "I have to get back to work now."

He took her tray and threw it in the trash, before they walked silently back to the second floor. When they were near the store, Finn grabbed her hand, stopping them. "When does your shift end?"

"Five, why?"

"Can I come back to take you home?"

"Okay." She nodded.

"Good. I'll see you later." He smiled at her before walking away.

"Bye" she waved before entering the store.

Brittany walked in her direction as soon as she saw the petite brunette. "How did it go?"

"It went fine. We just talked." Rachel shrugged.

"The tall guy – he's the baby's father, isn't he?" Brittany asked.

"Yes." There was no reason to hide that.

"I so knew it." Brittany said. "See! I'm not as dumb as everybody thinks."

"He said he wants to be there." Rachel stated, looking pensive.

Rachel wasn't so sure if Finn really meant it, because guys usually just ran away, just like what happened to her neighbor, Cecilia. She was dating a guy for a few months, when she got pregnant, once she told him – he kicked her out of his place, leaving her with no money. Cecilia had to move in with her mother, who lived in the same building as Rachel. Sometimes when Rachel was free, she would babysit Cecilia's baby, but that was rare, because she was always busy.

Rachel realized now, that she had a glimpse on how it was going to be – to raise her baby. It was going to be hard for her once she had her baby, just like it was for Cecilia and her mom.

Rachel and Brittany's shift ended and both of them gathered their stuff before leaving work. Rachel was glad to change into her normal clothes, which was a blue dress and white flats. She was tired of wearing heels and that uncomfortable uniform.

"Hey Britt, do you want to catch the bus?" Rachel asked as they left the store. She walked distracted as she took her sweater out of her bag.

"Uh Rach, look who's waiting," Brittany said as she nodded her head to the left.

Rachel turned her head to see Finn sitting on a bench, looking at his watch as if he was waiting for someone. Rachel couldn't help but be surprised by the sight. She was not expecting him to actually keep his word.

When Finn saw Rachel was there, he quickly stood, giving her a lop-sided smile while dipping his hands into his pockets. He watched her as she talked with her blonde friend. He thought to himself, that she looked tinier than when he had met her at the party, probably because she was wearing heels that night, her hair longer now and her face had no make-up on. Aside looking tired, Finn thought she looked gorgeous.

"I'll see you tomorrow" Brittany said and winked at Rachel, before she started walking the opposite way.

Rachel approached him; he appeared much taller than she had remembered "I didn't think that you would actually come back" she admitted.

"Why not?" He frowned

"Most usually don't." She responded frankly

"I guess I'm not most of them." Finn said raising his brow, in a teasing manner.

"We'll see about that." She said half serious, half joking, which made him chuckle.

They made their way outside of the mall, Finn guiding her to his car that was parked there. He opened the door for her and she thanked him. When they both got inside he asked her address and she told him.

"How do you usually get to work?" he asked

"I take the bus."

"Isn't that uncomfortable especially to a pregnant woman?" Finn pondered. He then realized that he knew nothing about pregnancy and he would have a lot of things to search on the subject.

"It's not my first choice, but it's my only option. I could take a cab, but that would be too expensive daily." After four years of living in the city, Rachel was used to using the public transit and was able to move around the city without getting lost.

"I can pick you up at work and take you home." He offered.

"No, it's okay. I'm used to it." Rachel declined politely.

"Come on, I want to." He insisted.

"Okay then" she conceded, figuring that Finn was probably concerned for his child's safety.

It was weird though, Rachel had just met him properly a few hours ago and told him she was pregnant and then he was already offering a lot. She didn't mind, but she was curious as to how long it would last.

"I feel like it was meant to be for me to find out about the baby," Finn thought out loud.

"How come?" She asked, turning her attention to him.

"I mean, what are the chances of us meeting again, especially at the women's store – where you work, after months without seeing each other?"

"Pretty slim, I suppose" She responded.

"Something made me pull toward you and I automatically remembered you. Then when you walked out of the counter, my eyes went straight to your belly."

"Is it that obvious?" Rachel wondered as she placed a hand on her belly.

"No. I guess it was just your uniform" Finn shrugged, before continuing "and the color – Kurt always says that white makes everything look bigger. But when you walked out of the store – wearing that dress – I couldn't even tell that you're pregnant" Finn concluded with a small laugh. For a moment when he spotted her leaving the store he wondered if she had a twin that wasn't pregnant or something.

"I suppose you're right. Sometimes I feel like I'm too exposed wearing that top. My boss is way too cheap. I bet she'll want me to buy a new uniform when I get bigger" she grumped, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"You know, there's something I've noticed," He trailed off, his gaze still on the road.

"What?"

"You didn't seem pleased to see me there," He spoke lowly. He stopped the car on a signal and looked straight at her. "Were you trying to hide from me?"

"Sort of" she admitted timidly, looking down at her hands on her lap. "It just felt awkward to see you again, under these circumstances. I just wasn't expecting it. Like you mentioned, we hadn't seen each other since that day and then all of a sudden you were there – at my work place with your brother and I just didn't know how to react. Besides, some of my co-workers don't really like me and they're going to gossip and exaggerate the story to my boss" sighing at the thought.

"I see. I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay. Like you said, I guess it was meant to be." They looked at each other, sharing a smile before he turned his head back to the traffic.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at where Rachel lived; she thanked him for the ride before leaving the car.

She saw Finn waited till she got inside the building then he left. Rachel walked into her small apartment, closing the door behind her and leaning against the door, taking a deep breath. She had a busy day full of surprises.

She dropped her bag on the couch and the keys on the table beside it, before heading to her bedroom. She grabbed her towel and pajamas before entering the bathroom to take a long shower. After that, she headed to the kitchen to prepare something to eat and when finished eating, she heard the phone rang. Rachel walked to the living room to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi sweetie. How are you?" A male voice spoke on the other side of the line.

"Hi daddy, I'm fine." She said in a mellow voice, happy to hear her daddy.

"And how's the baby?"

"The baby is good too." She smiled, placing a hand on her small bump.

"What about work?" He made another question; Rachel was used to his questionnaire every time he called her.

"It's tiring but I like it." Rachel affirmed, knowing her dads were still not keen with the idea of their daughter working there.

They weren't ashamed of her working in a mall, but they didn't think that she should waste her time working to pay her rent, when she could be going on auditions while they took care of her finances.

"Is it only good to pay the bills? You know we can send you money to cover the expenses" There it goes, Rachel thought to herself.

"No daddy, it's fine. Everything is good." Rachel assured him, hoping he'd drop the subject but he insisted.

"Are you sure. honey? You know you can't be by yourself, being pregnant and living alone there in a big city. You should come back home."

"Daddy, please… We've already discussed about that. I came here to follow my dreams and more importantly, to gain my independence." Rachel said once more, tired of repeating the same argument.

"You can be so stubborn." Hiram sighed.

"You know where I got it from." Rachel pointed out.

"Guilty."

Rachel chuckled softly at that. "Anyway, I just came across the baby's father today," she informed him..

"Oh really? How did that happen?" He asked, his tone was rather calm, Rachel noticed before replying.

"He came by the store with his brother and recognized me, he saw the bump."

"Oh my..." He exclaimed. "Did you guys talk?"

"Yes, he told me he wants to be there for the two of us."

"Really?" He asked suspiciously.

"Yeah."

"That's certainly new." Hiram commented. "Look sweetie, it doesn't matter how nice he seems to be. Please promise to be careful." he warned her with a concerning tone to his voice.

"I will, daddy."

"Things would've been so much better if you were here with us."

"Please, don't start it. I can take care of myself."

"Alright, but just remember that no matter what, your father and I will always be there for you. Don't ever be afraid to ask us for help."

"I won't daddy."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay, good."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome sweetheart." He heard her yawn and spoke again. "You're tired. Go to sleep."

"Okay. Night daddy. I love you and say I love you to papa too."

"I will. I love you too, honey."

"Goodbye."

After hanging up with her Dad, she laid down on the couch to take a nap. She was exhausted and felt like she could sleep for hours.

Later that evening as she headed to bed, Rachel observed the posters she had on the cream colored walls; they were all from her favorite Broadway musicals. Placing them on the walls when she first moved into her apartment – every night she would look at them and dream of starring in one of them one day.

Glancing to her left, she saw the stack of playbills that rested on her desk. They were from all of the plays that she had seen since she moved there for college.

Tears streamed down her face, as she remembered the many nights she stayed in her bedroom at her parents' house, singing in front of the mirror with her brush as the microphone, imagining herself on the stage singing to thousands of people.

It was so much easier back then, everything seemed possible and her goals were set at a very young age. She had accomplished most of them after she graduated from college, she was ready to take another step and reach for her biggest dream, however, something unexpected happened – she got pregnant and now she had to focus on it. Her dream of being on Broadway would have to take a backseat for now.

Rachel touched the posters before taking a few steps back and wrapped her arms around her body to hug herself. When she felt the back of her knees hit the bed, she slid down and sat on the floor crying.

* * *

**Next chapter will be posted soon, meanwhile you can read the new chapter of my other Finchel fic called The Simple Things in Life.**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a longer chapter, it starts with a flashback of the night an it'll explain a few things. Enjoy! :) **

**Chapter 3**

_Rachel was in her room getting dressed to go to a party with Brittany, whom she had met a couple of months ago, when they were both going to an audition in the same building. Rachel was auditioning for a play, while Brittany was auditioning for a dance group._

_The blonde dancer was lost, when Rachel had found her; she helped her find the exact address and then decided to meet up after they were done._

_Brittany was also the one who suggested that Rachel applied for a job where she worked. So when Rachel found out she had gotten the job, the blonde dancer told her they could go to a party and celebrate. Rachel wasn't too fond of the idea but accepted her offer since Brittany was the one who mentioned the job in the first place._

_..._

_It had been an hour since Finn had arrived at the party. He was already bored out of his mind. It had been a while since he had been to a party; at least since he was in college, but his friend Puck insisted that he went along._

_Finn leaned against a wall, his drink in hand – looking around the room. He hadn't seen Puck for over a half hour. He'd probably found a way to enjoy the party somewhere else. He finished his drink and thought about leaving until he spotted a petite brunette across the room looking out of place._

_She wore a short black dress that hugged her smoking body in all the right places. Her legs seemed to go on for miles and he had a great view of her amazing ass. Her tanned skin looked so soft that he had to control himself not to go over where she was to touch her._

_When she turned to look around the room, he was finally able to get a better look at her face. Her chocolate eyes were expressive, observing everything around her, but not really paying attention to anything specific; noticing a pout form on her very kissable lips._

_He observed her for a while. She kept tapping her fingers on her drink. Finally a smile formed, when a blonde girl went over and talked to her for a couple of minutes; she then left her standing there by herself again. He watched her walk away when someone started to smoke next to her._

_Finn followed her with his eyes, trying not to lose her from his sight. He saw her approaching him and then passing by him in the direction of the door. Without thinking, he followed behind her through the room full of drunken people. She was tiny and quick, not having any trouble making her way to the door, while he bumped into everyone._

_Before she could make her way out the door, Finn gently grabbed her by the wrist, trying to get her attention. He realized that he had startled her, apologizing quickly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."_

_Standing so close to her, he was able to conclude two things: how tiny she actually was and how beautiful she was._

_Her brown eyes staring back at him with a mix of surprise and uncertainty. She didn't say anything, so he continued. "I saw you across the room; I would assume that the party scene is not really your thing."_

_"No, not really." She replied shortly._

_He nodded with a smile. "I was bored too. I was about to ask you if you'd like some company, but I guess since you're leaving," He stated, not knowing exactly what point he was trying to make._

_Rachel kept looking at him. She was about to leave the party since there was nothing there for her, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad having his company. He definitely wasn't bad to look at either - she concluded as she took a look at his face more closely._

_"I don't even know your name." She pointed out._

_"Right." He smiled. "My name is Finn." He said, offering his hand._

_"I'm Rachel." She said, shaking his hand. Both enjoyed the warmth of their skins together._

_"Would you like to dance?" He asked, even though he knew he was the worst dance ever._

_"Okay," She smiled and he thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad._

_It was bad really bad. It had only been about five minutes since they had met and he was embarrassing himself in front of her. He wondered why he thought that this was a good idea._

_"Sorry, I know I'm bad." He sighed only getting a laugh in response. He liked the sound of her laugh thought._

_"It's not so bad." She said. "Here, let's try this."_

_Rachel looked down at their feet to see their movements; when she looked up she saw Finn staring at her intensely._

_Next thing she knew their lips were pressed together. They stayed kissing for a few minutes in the middle of the dance floor, not caring about all the other people around or the loud music._

_When things started to heat up, they headed upstairs to one of the bedrooms. This was going too fast, but neither of them minded; both too focused on the feeling of being with one another. _

_As they entered into one of the guest bedrooms - still glued to each other. Their kisses switched between slow a__nd sensual to quick and urgent._

_"I've never done this before." She said breathless, after finally breaking the kiss_

_"What? Sex?" __Finn panted._

_"No, sex with someone that I've just met," she confessed._

_"Oh," He said. "We can stop if you want."_

_"No. I don't"_

_"Good. Cause I don't want to stop it either." He said with a crooked smile. "I promise I'll be gentle."_

_"Okay." She nodded._

_His lips attached to her neck, while his hands traveled down her thighs – he was right, her skin was really smooth and felt hot under his touch. He could feel that she was trying to unbutton his shirt; he removed one hand from her thigh and helped her with it. She slid the material off his body. _

_Rachel sat up to unzip her dress; his hand slid up her back and reached for the zipper – helping her glide it slowly down her back. _

_They quickly removed their clothes, leaving them in their underwear before lying on the bed together. Finn planted kisses on her skin, lowering his head to nibble on the spot behind her ear, receiving a loud moan from her._

_He reached behind her and unclasped her bra; slowly removing the black lacy material from her body; she could feel his eyes on her body. You re so beautiful Finn murmured before kissing her chest._

_While his hand massaged one of her breasts the other breast was being attacked by his mouth, causing her nipple to become rock hard. She gasped, burying her hands into his hair, as he drew the nub deeper into his mouth._

_"Finn" she moaned; he looked up at her face – 'What a sight' he thought to himself. Her long chocolate locks sprawled onto the white pillow, her eyes shut as she bit her bottom lip. He had to try to control himself, not to cum right here – right now. _

_After he pleasured both of her breasts, his mouth trailed south, planting butterfly kisses on her stomach. He moved to her lips, kissing her urgently as his right hand fingered the waistband of her panties._

_Rachel arched her back, signaling to him that it was okay to take off the material._

_"You're so wet." He moaned into her ear; slowly pushing a finger inside of her._

_He knew she was close; he removed his fingers and clumsily got up from the bed to find his pants. Once with the package in his hand, he quickly ripped it open with his teeth and placed the condom on before positioning himself at her entrance._

_He gazed into her eyes, as if he was asking her permission; she nodded; he slowly entered her, both moaning at the contact._

_Finn started out moving slowly, but they soon found a pace; their movements became faster, as he continued thrusting in and out of her. With each thrust the penetration seemed to go deeper and deeper until her walls began to tighten, they screamed together as they felt each other release at the same time._

_As they came down from the high, their bodies succumbed to tiredness; they ended up falling asleep in each other s arms._

_The next morning they were awakened by the sound of a cell phone ringing. Finn realized that it was his he got up from bed and retrieved it from his pants._

_Rachel watched him, as he talked on the phone; searching for his clothes that were discarded all over the floor; she covered herself up, feeling a little embarrassed. She knew that one night stands weren t a good idea and now she had a prove of that._

_Finn talked on the phone as he dressed himself, searching for his clothes that were discarded on the floor. She only observed him as he told someone he would be meeting the person half hour._

_When he was fully clothed he apologized Rachel for having to leave all of the sudden before he left the room._

_After he was gone, Rachel quickly dressed and left before anybody could find her there in a stranger s room._

* * *

He had just arrived at work; unable to clear his head from thinking about that night. He sat down in his leather chair, turning to face the big window; hoping to find some answers – somewhere out there.

That night was wonderful, although he shouldn't have been thinking about it now - when he was planning on how to tell his mom that he was going to be a father, but he couldn't help himself.

Shaking his head, Finn turned around in his chair, grabbing his phone. _"You can do this,"_ Finn told himself, dialing his mother's number. He knew that she would be happy, but she would also be surprised.

_"Hello?"_

"Hi Mom! It's me, Finn."

_"Hi honey! How are you?"_ Finn could tell she sounded surprise by his phone call in the morning.

"Mom-" He trailed off.

_"What is it honey? What's wrong?" _Carole asked, sensing his discomfort.

He took a deep breath. "I uh... Mom, I have something to tell you."

___"Honey, Kurt called me earlier, asking me if you had talked to me."_

Gulping loudly. "Oh."_ 'I'm going to kill him!'_ Finn thought to himself. "Did he say anything else?"

_"No. He just said that you were probably going to call me soon."_

"Right." Finn cleared his throat. "Actually I do." He stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yesterday, Kurt and I were at the mall, when I saw a girl that I had met a few months ago," He took a breath. "She's pregnant and it turns out that I m the father." The words flowed out of his mouth without thinking.

"Oh My God!" He heard his mother exclaim.

Finn expected her to have that reaction; he gave her a few minutes to process everything.

Minutes later Carole spoke again. "And how do you know it's yours?" She inquired.

"Cause she was actually trying to hide herself when she saw me." He said sheepishly. "And it was her friend who said she was 3 months long. That's exactly how long it happened." He explained. "Oh and she told me that I didn't have to be involved if I didn't want to." He remarked, shaking his head at the thought. He already had left her the next day without talking to her properly, he wasn't going to be a jerk again and leave her to take care of their baby all by herself. That was not fair.

"And what did you say?" Carole wondered.

"Mom, I want to be a part of that baby's life. That's what I told her." He stated.

"You know it's going to be hard, right?" Carole stated.

"I know, mom. I've been thinking about that a lot." He told her. Granted, it had been less than 24 hours since their encounter at the mall but since then he had been thinking about it a lot, at work and at home.

"I'd like to meet her." Carole stated. "What's her name?"

"Rachel." He responded, the mention of her name bringing a smile to his face. "Sure. I'll talk to her. She's cool. I think you're going to like her." To the contrary of what Rachel thought, Finn believed that his mother and her would get along pretty well.

"You sound excited." Carole noted.

"Do I?" Finn asked surprised. "I guess it's because Rachel is so easy to talk to." Finn shrugged, not giving much thought.

Carole decided to drop the subject for now, but her mother's instinct told her that there was something more going on with her son and the mother of his child.

"You know a baby is always a blessing. You and Rachel can always count on Burt and I for anything," She reassured him.

"Thanks, mom. That really means a lot to me." He sighed in relief.

Finn was worried about his mom's reaction to the news, her opinion was really important to him, but he knew deep down inside, that she would be supportive, as she always had been. Having her to confirm that, made him happy.

"You're welcome sweetie, and please don't forget to keep me up-to-date," Carole requested, her voice showing enthusiasm. She had always wanted grandchildren, however, she didn't think it'd happen so soon given the fact that Finn hadn't been in a relationship for a while.

"Will do." He promised his mom.

"Okay, well I guess I need to go and call Kurt, he wanted to ask me something about my birthday." Carole stated, before an idea popped in her head. "Oh Finn, you should bring Rachel with you for my birthday." She suggested excitedly.

"I'll have to ask her this evening, when I pick her up from work. She might already have plans for the weekend." Finn said, not wanting to give his mom any false hope. He and Rachel hadn't spoken enough for him to know if she had plans for the weekend.

"Ask her, then. Don't forget to let me know."

"Alright. Now I have to get back to work. Love you, mom."

"I love you too, son."

After saying goodbye, Finn hung up the phone, adjusting himself in the chair, laying his head back on the head rest as he thought about how he'd ask Rachel to go to his mom's birthday party with him.

* * *

Rachel was sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast, quickly, so she wouldn't be late for work. The previous night she had slept without getting anything done, so she had to do it all when she got up.

She left the dishes in the sink, having to wash them when she returned from work, running to the bathroom to brush her teeth and apply some make-up before grabbing her purse and keys to leave for work.

Thankfully she did arrive at the store right on time – she stopped in the bathroom to change into her uniform – there was no way she would leave home wearing that, especially when she was running late – when she heard a few voices enter the bathroom.

"A guy showed up at work yesterday, apparently he's the father of Rachel's baby" Rachel peaked up at the mention of her name. She stayed silent so nobody could tell she was there eavesdropping. Well not really eavesdropping, because she was already there when they walked in.

"Really? Who in their right mind would want to sleep with man hands? Let alone have a baby with her?" she didn't even have to peer through the door to know that it was Quinn, who had made that comment.

"Well… I heard he didn't even know she was pregnant. Maggie from the Sushi restaurant on third, said she saw them yesterday sitting at a table talking during her lunch" Rachel's other co-worker stated.

Rachel opened her mouth perplexed; she couldn't believe that they were spying on her 'What a bunch of nosy people!" She huffed to herself; "Poor guy, he's going to be trapped for the rest of his life to her!" Another woman snarled.

"I guess he's too dumb. He's probably rich and man hands wanted to take advantage of that." Quinn stated as all the other women laughed at her comment.

Rachel tried to keep herself together, but all she wanted to do was slam the door open and slap the shit out of all of those bitches. Who were they – accusing her of trapping a man? They don't know anything about her life! She'd never done anything to them to deserve so much hate.

The nasty conversation continued as Rachel stood there listening to everything, taking it all in, not saying a word, letting the tears fall on her face.

When the group finally left, Rachel pressed her head against the wall next to her; falling to the floor, only able to make noises now without getting caught.

She composed herself, getting up to finish changing. Once she was ready, she opened the stall door and walked toward the sink to wash her face. She looked herself in the mirror and noticed her face was still red. She dried her face with a paper towel and reapplied her make-up.

After calming down and taking a few deep breaths, she grabbed her bag and walked out of the bathroom, holding her head high before going to work.

As she walked towards her workplace, she thought about the comments that her co-workers had made, she thought that those comments would stop after high school, but she was wrong. However, just like in high school she not would let them get in her way.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Finn was leaving work earlier than usual, so he could pick Rachel up at her work again. His phone rang just as he was walking out.

He checked the caller ID, recognizing the number; he answered "What's up Puck?" Finn greeted his friend, hoping that the conversation would be short. He looked at the clock making sure of the time.

_"Hey bro, what's up? I was just wanting to see if you wanted to go check out this new club, that opening tonight?"_

"Sorry – I can't man. I already have plans" Finn declined his friend's offer.

_"Plans?" _Puck repeated, sounding surprised_ "What kind of plans?" _he asked, not hiding his curiosity.

"Yeah – I'm going to pick Rachel up at work"

_"Wait a minute … Rachel?" _He thought for a second._ "That name sounds familiar" _Puck knew he'd heard that name before, but couldn't place it.

"Yeah – the girl I met at that party that you dragged me to a few months ago" Finn reminded him.

_"Oh yeah … that's right. The girl you slept with and couldn't stop talking about the next day. And complained on how I shouldn't have invited you to a party on a Sunday" _Puck remarked.

"Yes." Finn confirmed.

_"So, are you guys going out now?"_

"Actually, she's pregnant" clearing his throat "I'm the father" Finn revealed to his best friend.

_"Holy shit!"_ Puck shouted. _"Are you serious?"_

"I would not kid about something like that."

_"Whoa! And I thought I was the only one who didn't use a condom."_

"You're not helping." Finn said dryly.

"Sorry, dude. I'm just surprised."

"Yeah, so was I." He muttered.

"So what are you gonna do?" Finn kept hearing that question.

"We're still figuring it out." He replied honestly.

"Good luck! Well I guess I'll go by myself, then. We'll catch up another day!"

"Alright"

"Oh and I wanna meet her."

"I'll think about it."

Finn hung up the phone, grabbing his briefcase, quickly leaving his office. He'd already wasted too much time. He was going to be late.

* * *

Rachel spent the whole day with her head held high, ignoring the nasty comments from the other women that continued gossiping throughout the day, including on her lunch break.

She was so happy to see that the time had went quickly after lunch; it was now time for her leave. She quickly changed and left the store not looking back.

She was surprised when she saw Finn waiting for her outside of her workplace. He was in a suit, probably coming straight from work, she guessed. Rachel couldn't help but think he looked handsome.

"Hey." She greeted him with a small smile.

"Hi. Are you ready to go?"

"Definitely." She replied, nodding.

"When I got here, a storm was fast approaching and I think I heard thunder outside, while I was walking in" Finn commented as they made their way to the front of the mall "I don't think we can make it to your place, so we'll just go to mine" he stated naturally.

Rachel stopped walking, looking at him – a little shocked "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I don't live that far from here. It's no problem." He shrugged.

"Don't you think that it's too soon for that? It's only been a little over 24 hours since we truly met. I feel like I'm causing you a lot of hassle. I'm sure it's not much, I can take a bus and go back home" Rachel argued.

They barely knew each other and he was already offering her to stay over at his home. For some reason, that didn't sit right to her.

"Take a look for yourself then." He said, pointing to the outside through the glass door.

She looked out the glass door, seeing the few people outside were either running in to the mall or running to their cars. The storm was becoming nastier as the seconds ticked on.

"Okay. I take that back" she said as Finn chuckled.

The man had a point; she had to give him that. She could be stubborn sometimes but knew that they couldn't make it back to her place without getting stuck in the storm.

Finn took off his jacket "Come on, I'm parked right there," she nodded; he placed his jacket over her, holding her tight to his side, so she wouldn't fall; counting to three before they quickly left the mall.

They were able to make it to his car quickly. _'Good thing for key faubs'_ Finn thought to himself, as he unlocked the doors prior to them reaching his car. He opened the door for her and helped her in before running to the driver's side.

Once they both were inside of the car, they sat quietly for a few minutes breathing heavily. They looked at each other, both laughing at the sight of each other. They were both soaked from the rain.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking at her.

"Yeah! That was fun." She responded with a giggle.

Although Finn lived a few blocks away from the mall, the ride took about twenty minutes more than the usual because of the storm and the traffic.

When they arrived at his place, he opened the door letting Rachel enter first. She looked around, stunned. The living room was huge with a big screen TV, a large couch and decorated very masculine style.

At the left, was the kitchen with a dining room; to her right there was a hall that lead to the other rooms, she guessed.

"Wow, it's big." Rachel commented, her eyes capturing every detail of the place. "Sorry, that was rude." She said sheepishly.

"It okay" Finn shrugged, not minding her comment "Kurt used to live here, but he moved in with his boyfriend, so now I have it all to myself." He explained.

"I think my apartment is the size of your living room." She observed with a laugh.

"I know it can be too much for a single person but I guess I'm used to it now." He shrugged.

He saw her shiver lightly, probably getting cold since she was still in her wet clothes.

"Anyway, I'm gonna get you some dry clothes and a towel so you can change." Finn said before asking her to stay there so he could go to the other room to grab the clothes.

When he came back, Finn handed her a clean white towel and a pair of his pajamas, he had picked the smallest one he could find. "There you go. Bathroom is the second door to the right." He instructed.

"Thank you." Rachel smiled appreciatively.

"No problem. I'm gonna makes us some hot chocolate." He offered, knowing it would be good to drink something hot to warm it up.

"Aren't you going to change too?" she asked noticing his clothes were still wet, too.

"Yeah – I'll change in my room. My hair is quick to dry" he said running his fingers through his hair and shaking his head playfully, water splattering all over the place, causing Rachel to squeal.

"Sorry about that." He apologized, giving her a sheepishly smile. Although he didn't think she minded it by her giggles. He laughed too.

After they separated going into the different rooms; Finn was first to finish – he made them some hot chocolate to warm them up.

Rachel opened the bathroom door, walking out wearing Finn's gray 'Property of McKinley High School' shirt and blue shorts. Finn was walking out of the kitchen, stopping when he saw her. She looked adorable and kind of hot too, in his clothes, and her hair still damp.

"Umm …" Rachel stumbled over her words "I think it's a little big, but that's okay. The shorts, though" she held them up, laughing "They wouldn't stay up". She felt a little uncomfortable standing in the middle of his apartment in just his t-shirt that fell just above her knees.

His cheeks pinked as he stared at her "I … uh … you look great … I – uh … mean it looks great on you" still staring at her "H-here's your hot chocolate" he said handing her the hot cup.

"Thanks." She tasted the hot liquid, licking her lips. "It's good."

"So what do you want to do now?" Finn asked as they walked into the living room.

"I don't know" She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't want to be a bother, so if you have stuff to do – please go ahead. I'll – find something to do – or I could go on to bed." biting her lower lip; her feet bare and drawing circles on the floor with her toes.

"Nah, I usually just stay on the couch watching TV."

"We can do that."

They sat on the large couch, not sitting too close, but close enough. Rachel pulled her knees into her chest, pulling Finn's t-shirt down around her feet, covering herself up.

Finn caught a glance of Rachel, so was so small and cute. He couldn't help but to smile at her.

An hour later, they were hungry, deciding to eat dinner. Take-out was a no-go because of the storm – nobody was willing to deliver in that mess, so Rachel offered to make dinner.

Rachel opened his refrigerator to see what was there to cook, only finding frozen food.

"How can you eat those things?" She asked scrunching her nose in disgust.

"They're easy to prepare and quick too. I'm a busy man." He defended himself.

"Hey, you can make something simple, health and still delicious." She protested.

"My mom left some fruits and veggies, I don't know what to do with them, so I've not touched them." Finn showed her where they were, clearly not being touched.

"Eat would be a good choice." She pointed out. "I'll use them." Rachel stated, laying all of the items that were still good on the counter.

"Would you like me to help you?" Finn offered as he walked to the other side of the counter.

"Yes, please." She nodded before asking him where it was the salt, pepper and olive oil.

"What are we doing?" He asked as he grabbed everything she had requested.

"Well, I'm not sure yet. I still need to think what's possible to make with the ingredients that we have available."

Rachel decided to fix fried chicken and a salad. They worked together making the dish, Rachel was the cook and Finn was her assistant. They made a great team.

When dinner was ready, they sat at the counter next to each other. Rachel waited for him to take the first bite, wanting to know his opinion.

"It's really good." Finn stated, chewing his food before licking his lips.

"See! I told you." Rachel beamed. It was really good indeed, she thought as she took a bite as well.

"Have you had any crazy cravings yet?" He asked curiously as they enjoyed dinner.

"Not so much," She shook her head, taking a small bite. "Once after work I wanted ice cream and French fries … together." She chuckled, biting her lower lip.

"Eww" Finn made a face which made her laugh.

"Aside from those cravings, I try to eat healthy, so I don't feel bad when I do have those kinds of cravings". Rachel had always preserved a healthy diet, even before she was pregnant, now that she was – she wanted to make sure to maintain that diet.

"Next time you have one of those, you can totally call me."

"Are you sure?" She asked, looking at him.

"Of course, that's my job. I don't want our baby to look like potato or something."

"Do you believe that?" She laughed.

"I'm not gonna be the one to try to prove it wrong." He pointed out.

"Okay, what if I call you in the middle of the night, craving Goji berries?"

"I'll go and get it for you," he assured her. "Wait, what's a Goji berry?"

"It's a fruit."

"Oh, but why would you want to eat that?"

She shrugged "I tried it once with yogurt and I thought it was good – and it's very nutritious"

"Okay so you're going to have to tell me where that place is that you buy them, so I'll know where to get them, the next time you want them"

Smiling "Okay" she nodded

They continued eating, while they talked about different things, wanting to get to know each other better. It was important to find out more about one another, after all, their lives were tied with the arrival of the baby.

It was getting late; Finn noticed that Rachel was looking even more tired; he showed her to the guest bedroom.

"Everything is new and clean," he said as they entered the room. "At first, I was going to make it a game room, but my mom told me that it was necessary to have a guest bedroom. You're my first guest." He said with a smile.

"I'm quite honored." She said playfully, putting her hands on her chest.

"My mom and Kurt decorated it. Kurt said he wanted it to look good for my guests. To be honest, I think it's nicer than mine" he laughed "The bed is so comfortable" he said as he sat on the edge of the bed, feeling the softness of the mattress with his hands.

"No trading." She pointed, joking lightly.

"Fine." He said with a groan as he stood up.

"Thank you." She told him honestly.

He only nodded. "No problem. Good night."

"Goodnight Finn."

Finn walked into his bedroom, lying on the bed; the rain pouring outside – pounding on his bedroom window; while he thought about the girl in the other room.

* * *

**I already have the next chapter written but first I wanna know what you guys think this one. Please read and review! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow! Thank you so much for the reviews, I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this fic. **

**Chapter 4 **

Finn's alarm went off at 9 o'clock in the morning just like he had programmed the night before. Usually, he took the Saturday to sleep till noon but this time he had a guest and he had promised Rachel that he'd take her home early in the morning.

He stretched himself and got up from the bed, looking out of the window and noticed the rain had stopped which was a good thing.

He was walking down the hallway to the bathroom when he heard somebody singing.

_Wait, this voice is familiar._ He thought to himself.

Finn followed the sound and ended up in the kitchen. There was Rachel singing a sweet melody while she made scrambled eggs.

He decided to stay unnoticed for a while, leaning against the wall, watching her continuing to sing freely the lyrics with so much passion. Nobody could know that but as cheesy as it sounded, Finn thought this was even better than being awakened by the sound of the birds singing at your window.

_'She sounds like an angel,'_ he thought with a smile.

She moved around the kitchen, singing the lyrics as if she was on a stage in front of thousands of people. He was lucky to be the _only_ audience of her private show, even though she didn't know he was there watching her.

Turning around to go grab something in the refrigerator, Rachel then noticed his presence. "Good morning, Finn." She beamed. Her bright smile made him smile as well; he could tell she was a morning person.

"Morning, Rach." He replied, the nickname flowing out of his lips naturally.

"I hope that you don't mind, but I took the liberty to make us breakfast." Rachel said, motioning to the sink where she had placed the plates while she cooked breakfast.

"Not at all, but you are _my_ guest, so _I_ should be the one that is fixing your breakfast." Finn reminded her. He should have been the one first awake but how could he have guessed that somebody could possibly wake up on a Saturday before nine? They weren't even working!

"I'm sorry Finn but dinner yesterday proved that you're not a good cook." She said matter-of-factly. "And neither a good assistant" She added, scrunching her nose at the thought of him almost ruining dinner by placing too much pepper on the chicken and breaking a glass as he tried to hold a hot pan in his hands. She could tell he was trying to impress her but she was able to tell he wasn't familiar with cooking. She appreciated his effort though.

"Aw, I'm hurt." He pouted, placing his hands on his heart.

"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." She replied in the same dramatic tone as him. "And to make it up, I'm gonna make an extra effort on your breakfast." She promised.

He pumped his hand in the air playfully as if he was celebrating. "Thanks! Meanwhile, I'm gonna take a quick shower."

"Ok." She nodded, going back to cooking as he walked out of the kitchen.

As Finn headed to the bathroom he listened as Rachel started singing again; smiling at the sweet sound of her voice before closing the door behind him.

...

After showering and changing, he returned to the kitchen to find his plate already fixed and on the counter.

Rachel was sitting on a chair across from his eating her food but looked up at him when she noticed he was back.

"Sorry I didn't wait for you. The baby was complaining." She said bashfully. Rachel had tried to wait for him but after a couple of minutes her stomach growled and she gave in, setting her plate on the counter and started feeding herself and the baby.

"It's okay. Besides, it's important for you to eat well." He remarked as he sat on the other chair opposite hers.

He took the first bite of the scrambled eggs she had made for him. "This is really good." Finn told her with a grin.

"Thank you." She beamed content with his approval. She didn't know what he liked but as they talked yesterday, she had a brief idea of his preferences when it came to food.

"Where did you learn to cook?" He asked curiously, taking a few pancakes on his place.

"I taught myself. Growing up we didn't have a maid and my dads only ordered take out. I loved to watch cooking shows, so I decided to start trying to make the recipes."

"Cool! What else can you cook?"

"Oh I love baking!" She said excitedly. "But I like to make any kind of food, really."

"You could be a chef." He commented as he savored his food.

"Oh no! Cooking for me is like a hobby that came in handy. My true passion is singing." She said with sure.

"That's right!" He slapped his forehead. "I heard you sing. I was blown away."

"Thank you! I'm very talented." She said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I know. You should be on Broadway or something." Finn commented naturally. He only knew about Broadway because of Kurt and his mom, well, mostly Kurt. His brother always listened to musical soundtracks in his bedroom and sometimes even in the living room, although with complaints from Finn.

"You think?" She asked surprised.

"Totally. You're the most talented person I know." It was true. Her voice was so pure yet powerful that he felt something inside him when he heard her sing.

Seeing how her face dropped, he asked concernedly. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Not at all. It's just that the musical directors think otherwise. There's always something." She said sadly, her head down not really giving any more details.

"I guess they're crazy then." He shrugged his shoulders. "And blind and tone deaf." He added, shaking his head at the thought. How could anybody deny a true talent? He pondered to himself.

Rachel laughed lightly at his comment. "I don't think they'd be directors if they were." She replied in amusement.

"It's the only logical explanation." He concluded with a shrug.

"I guess it doesn't matter right now." She tried to brush it off but he could tell she was a little sad about it.

Sensing her discomfort, Finn tried to change the subject. "So, I called my mom yesterday to tell her the news." He informed.

She looked up surprised. "Really? And how did she react?" She asked, curiously.

"She was supportive, excited even," He said. "My mom always wanted to have grandchildren."

"I'm sure not in these circumstances." She scoffed.

"Probably not, but that doesn't mean she'll not love the baby any less." He pointed out.

"I have to agree with her." She said, smiling down at the belly and caressing it softly.

Observing her, Finn felt the urge to touch her belly too, to feel their baby, but decided against it, at least for now. He'd wait for Rachel to feel comfortable enough to let him touch her belly whenever she was ready.

Brushing off his thoughts momentarily, Finn remembered what his mother had asked him. "Anyway, next week is my mother's birthday and if you don't have any plans, I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?" He asked hesitantly, not sure how Rachel would react to the question.

He could tell she looked surprised by the invitation. "Are you sure about that? We barely know each other and you already want to introduce me to your family at your mother's birthday party?"

"Actually, it was my mom. She wanted me to ask you" He explained.

"Oh."

"I think it's gonna be pretty cool for them to meet you and they're not so bad either." He said lightly, a smile forming on his face as he thought of his family.

"But they're not meeting just one of your friends… they're meeting the girl that's carrying your child" Rachel pointed out.

"They'll like you… Trust me." He affirmed.

"Are you certain of that? I have to warn you that I'm a very talkative person and usually people do not appreciate this aspect of my personality."

"I don't see anything wrong with that," he shrugged and smiled "but like I said, if you have other plans or don't feel comfortable going – I will totally understand." He assured her; secretly hoping that she'd say yes.

"No, no. I'd love to go." She quickly responded. "If your family wants to meet me, I would love to meet them as well." Rachel smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, she thought to herself.

"Awesome." He cheered. "Mom will be thrilled to hear that." His excitement made her laugh.

* * *

"Hello Carole?" Kurt called over the phone. "I'm so sorry I couldn't talk to you yesterday. I did get your message but I was busy at work that I couldn't reply to you." He apologized; he had left so many messages the day before waiting for Carole's call but then the next day he was so busy that he couldn't even check his messages. Kurt was only able to do it at night.

"It's fine Kurt. I actually called you because you asked me to." Carole stated simply.

"Right. Did Finn tell you the news?" Kurt asked trying to sound casual.

"Yes, he told me yesterday," Carole responded, still a little surprised by the news.

"And how did you take it?" Kurt wondered.

"Like I told Finn 'a child is always a blessing'

"Does my dad know?"

"Yes, I told him. He was surprised but he was okay too." Carole responded, remembering how right after she had hang up the phone, she ran straight to talk to her husband who was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. They talked for a while and that made her more serene.

"That was definitely a big surprise." Kurt repeated with more emphases. Thursday after he left the store, he couldn't help but want to tell somebody about the news so he called his boyfriend, Blaine who got worried by the tone of Kurt's voice. When he had arrived home, he had explained Blaine more detailed what had happened.

"So did you meet her?" Carole asked.

"I did. I was there when Finn saw her at the store."

"Finn told me she was trying to hide herself? Is it true?" Carole questioned, still confused as to why she would do that.

"Yes, she was behind the counter when her co-worker called her."

"You two found her at her work?" She asked surprised; her son hadn't told her this piece of information.

"Yes. I assume she was embarrassed because of that. When I left them talking outside and came back to the store, I could hear the other women gossiping about her." Kurt commented, remembering how the other store women didn't even try to be discreet about what they were talking about.

"That's horrible." Carole gasped.

"Yeah," Kurt agreed.

"And how is she?" She wondered. She didn't want to ask her son since he would probably shrug and give a short reply.

"Well, I didn't stay with them the much longer so I can't tell you that but she's so tiny that I think Finn could put in his pocket."

Carole laughed at that. "Really?" The image of her son with a girl much shorter than him seemed adorable to her. "I asked Finn to invite her to my birthday party. I hope she accepts so I can meet her."

"Me too."

_'This should be interesting,'_ Kurt thought to himself.

* * *

"This is _so_ good." Rachel moaned after taking another bite of the chocolate cake she was eating for dessert.

After spending the morning together, they went out to a restaurant near his apartment to have lunch, since Finn made sure to drive her home. They were getting along pretty well and Finn was enjoying her company as they spend more time together.

"Do you always eat so much or is it the pregnancy?" He asked curiously. Not that he minded, he was quite enjoying just watching her eat with so much pleasure. It was fascinating, _really_.

"That's not a very nice thing to say, especially to a pregnant woman." Rachel remarked with narrowed eyes.

"Sorry. That wasn't my intention." He apologized with his hands up. "I'm just curious because you're so tiny, but I heard that pregnant women need to eat for two, right?"

"That's correct." She nodded as she licked her lips and used a napkin on the corner of her mouth. "Although it's also right to say that I'm a fan of a good meal. I just try to eat healthily."

Finn smirked; he liked the fact that she ate a lot. He'd make sure to always take her out to eat and even bring her something after work sometimes.

"That's good. A healthy mama means a healthy baby, right?"

Rachel only nodded; too busy savoring her cake to respond.

"Can you give me a bite?" He asked, looking at the cake.

"Why didn't you order one for yourself?" She asked, annoyed.

"I didn't want it at first, but you're eating with so much pleasure that it makes me wanna try it too. Come on," He pleaded.

"Fine." She huffed. Rachel positioned the fork to his direction and he happily took a bite.

"What do you say?" She asked.

"It's good, just not much sugar." He replied, licking his lips.

"That's the best kind. Too much sugar is not good." She retorted.

"I have sweet teeth." He told her sheepishly.

"I guess we can hope our baby to only have your sweet smile but not your sweet teeth." She giggled before going back to eat while Finn stared at her for a while, looking stunned. The thought that she hoped that their baby would have his smile made his heart swell. He wasn't expecting to feel like that.

When Rachel was done, they left the restaurant and walked to where his car was parked. They kept talking during the drive and before they knew they were already on the street where Rachel lived.

This time, Rachel thought it'd be polite to invite him over and he gladly accepted it. He had found out that the building didn't have an elevator but she quickly assured him that she only lived on the second floor before he started to argue.

"It's very small but cozy." She told him before opening the door.

The sight before them was quite the opposite. Rachel gasped and Finn's eyes were wide when they took the place in. There was water all over the place and it was coming from her bedroom.

"Oh no!" Rachel cried, looking at the mess. They carefully walked inside the apartment trying to not fall because of the wet floor.

Rachel went to the kitchen and bathroom and was relieved to see those rooms were actually dry. But when she walked to her bedroom she got a big surprise.

The room was damaged the most, and by the broken glass of the window, it was safe to point out what caused the incident. Rachel knew the apartment was old and she needed to do some restoration but there was never much money left at the end of the month so she had been delaying those reconstructions.

And now she was paying for that. With the storm from yesterday, the thin glass didn't resist the force of the wind and crashed. And since Rachel stayed out since the previous day, the rain entered into her room and the water flooded into the living room.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel. What are you going to do?" He asked softly, feeling bad for her.

"I don't know, I'll have to figure something." She responded shaking her head, as she returned to the living room, Finn following her suit. "I have to start cleaning before it gets even messier." Rachel said, going to grab a broom and other things to dry the place but Finn stopped her.

"No. You're not gonna do that." He said firmly, shaking his head.

"Excuse me?"

"That's right. You're actually going back to my apartment with me."

"What?" Rachel asked incredulous.

"You heard me. You're gonna leave with me." Finn repeated, more sure of himself.

"Finn, you can't ask me that." Rachel argued, trying to make him see what he was asking her.

"And why not?" He retorted. "There's no way, I'm gonna let the mother of my child live in a place like this." He stated, motioning to the messy place. He couldn't understand why she was being so stubborn; it was clear that she couldn't keep living in those circumstances.

"I'm sorry but this is all I can afford." She scoffed a little hurt by his implication. She wasn't happy seeing her apartment like that, as much as it was small and had a lot of issues; she tried hard to make it look like a home for her. Besides, she worked hard to pay the rent and not let her dads help her financially.

She stormed off to her room again, to see the rest of the damage. She gasped at the sight of her Broadway posters all destroyed. She was trying to hold back the tears because she didn't want Finn to see her like that, but it was too much for her.

_..._

_Rachel and her roommate were moving into their apartment with the help of her roommate's boyfriend. They had placed most of their furniture and stuff at the living room, kitchen and bathroom. Rachel had contributed with most of the things like the refrigerator (it was a small one but it worked), the TV and oven while her roommate got an old couch and a small table and chairs that her boyfriend got from his neighbor. It was nothing fancy but they at least tried to make the place homey like._

_After they had moved everything, Rachel's roommate and boyfriend left to go to the movies while Rachel decided to organize her bedroom._

_First she opened her pink suitcase to put all her clothes in the closet, then she opened one of the boxes and organized her desk with her laptop, photos and others stuffs._

_It was late at night when she finally finished her room by placing the last Broadway poster on the wall. She took a look at her room and smiled contently with the final result. _

_The boring white walls were covered with the vibrant Broadway posters and she filled her desk with family pictures, mostly of her with her dads. She had put a pink bed set and put her purple lamp she had since she was a kid beside it. _

_She would make sure to buy flowers to put somewhere in the room, but other than that, she thought her room looked great._

_"My new home." She whispered to herself._

_And it was true. So far she had only lived at her parent's house and at the college's dorm. Now she could tell that this was truly hers. Sure she shared the apartment with somebody else but this room was only hers. And she felt like it was her safe place. _

_..._

Finn followed her to the bedroom and cringed at the sight. The room was even worse than the other. He looked at her, seeing as she held herself tightly; bit her trembling lips, a tear sliding down her cheek. He felt really bad for her.

"I'm sorry Rachel. For what happened to your place and for being so inconsiderate."

She nodded but didn't look at him. "I know I have to move out. It's just hurt to see all that." She cried softly.

"I know." He said, walking up to her to hug her, rubbing her back slowly. For the first time since the night they slept together, they were back holding each other. But this time was different, she needed comfort and to feel safe. He let her cry in his chest, feeling her tiny body shake. He kept rubbing her back, trying to calm her.

"It's okay." He whispered in her hair. They stayed like that for several minutes, letting her cry.

After a while, Rachel finally parted from him to wipe her tears; she had stopped crying and tried to compose herself.

He asked if she was alright and she responded by giving him a nod and a small smile. He was able to hear a small 'thank you' from her as she kept drying her tears.

She then excused herself to the bathroom, leaving him in her bedroom by himself.

He took the chance to observe her room more carefully. Aside the huge mess the water made, Finn could see there were posters on the wall, and pictures on the desk. He smiled as he saw a picture of Rachel as a kid, wearing a pink dress. He thought she hadn't changed much; she still had the same expressive eyes and bright smile.

When Rachel returned to her bedroom, Finn could see she had washed her face but her eyes looked puffed from all the crying.

"We can pack some things today, like your clothes and then we can get everything else tomorrow." He stated.

"Alright." He could barely hear her.

Rachel grabbed a few articles of clothing from her closet and things she needed the most before they left her apartment.

The drive back to his apartment was quiet. Finn kept glancing at Rachel to check if she was okay, but she just looked at the window, he could tell she cried again.

Finn couldn't stand to see her like that. He would try to make her feel like she was home, and not just a guest as if she was there as a favor. He knew that she couldn't be worried because of the pregnancy and he would make sure to take care of things for her.

Arriving at his apartment, Finn opened the front door for her. Rachel walked inside first as Finn followed her before closing the door behind him. He placed her suitcase on the floor and wrapped his arm on her shoulder.

"Welcome to your new home, Rach."

* * *

**Poor Rachel! What's gonna happen now with them living together? Please read and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next morning Rachel woke up confused as she looked around the room – realizing that it wasn't her bedroom. Looking around the room she noticed the silver alarm clock on the nightstand that Kurt had bought for Finn. She studied her surroundings some more, remembering that this was her new home – her new room… she now lived with Finn.

She sat up in bed and stretched, knowing that today was going to be long and tiring, since it was moving day. Sadness fell over her as she thought about moving; remembering last night when they returned to the apartment – she was quiet, going straight to her new room to put up her clothes. Finn had knocked on her door, slowly opening it. He stood in the doorway, staring at her seeing how upset she was. "What do you want for dinner?" He asked.

"Nothing." She stated as she continued to hang up her clothes.

"Rach – you have to eat. You're eating for two now. Come on… why don't you go and take a shower and I'll order us some dinner?" He asked as he gave her a lopsided smile.

Thirty minutes later – she walked out of the bathroom showered, feeling somewhat better. The smell of the Italian food that Finn had ordered had infiltrated the living room, which caused her stomach to start rumbling. They ate and watched some old movies. After eating she admitted that the food and shower had helped.

As the night went on – she began feeling tired; Rachel thanked Finn and went straight to bed.

Rachel looked over at the clock – she had slept much longer than usual. The extra sleep made her feel better since it took a while to fall to sleep the night before.

It was still way too early for Finn to be up; at least that's what Rachel thought. If he was – he was being quiet. Rachel tip-toed to her bedroom door, quietly opening it; poking her head out to see if there was any sign of her new roomie. Nothing. She snuck into the bathroom quietly to take a shower and to finish getting ready for what lied ahead for the day.

She was ready for the day and now hungry. To Rachel's surprise, she walked into the kitchen to find Finn awake.

"Good morning." She greeted him as she sat on the stool.

He turned around and smiled. "Morning. How are you feeling today?" He asked with a concerned tone to his voice.

"Good" Rachel responded, giving him an assuring smile.

"No morning sickness today?"

"Nope."

"Good." He said before placing a plate in front of her. "I fixed breakfast for us. I hope you like it."

"Thank you, Finn. That's very nice of you."

"I'm just returning the favor" he smiled back.

After breakfast, the pair drove to Rachel's apartment. During the ride, Finn kept glancing at Rachel with concern and she gave him a reassuring smile.

As they walked in, they noticed that the floor looked to be dried more than it was the day before, which would make moving a lot easier.

They had cleaned some the previous day and worked a little, while there packing up some of Rachel's belongings to take to - her new home.

Rachel packed her clothes in her suitcases while Finn moved some of her furniture to his car.

Back at Finn's apartment, the new roommates were discussing the redecoration of the guest bedroom. Rachel wasn't so keen with the idea at first, after all it was still his apartment and she was going to be living there as a favor but he assured her that since it was going to be her bedroom from now on then she had the right to have her stuff there.

"Nice piano rug." Finn teased as Rachel unrolled the mat on the floor near the bed.

"Shut up! I have this rug since I was a little girl," Rachel said. "Sometimes I like to sit on it to read a book" She got lost in her thoughts and remembered back to when she was seven with her very first diary; she would lay on that rug to write.

"It's cool. I also loved my cowboy wallpaper from my old bedroom when I was a kid"

"You had cowboy wallpaper?" Rachel asked, trying not to laugh.

"Hey! Don't laugh." He pouted, crossing his arms.

"Alright." Rachel said throwing her arms up in the air. "But no cowboy wallpaper on our kid's bedroom, okay?"

The thought of needing a room for the baby crossed their minds but it was too soon for them to talk about that so they decided not to touch on this subject _for now_.

* * *

During their lunch break, Rachel and Brittany sat in a table talking "Brits I'm just so tired of hearing them gossip about me" Rachel groaned, mixing French Fries with chocolate.

"I heard them say your pregnancy is the hot topic now." Brittany commented before making a face at the odd food combination her friend had made.

"Great" Rachel muttered "Couldn't they talk about something else? What about the woman from the department store who got boob job recently?"

"That's old news already."

"Now it's my turn!" Rachel said faking enthusiasm. "Can you believe Quinn said the other day that I trapped Finn?"

"What? I thought you could only trap mouse? Lord Tubbington knows all the tricks." The blonde said seriously. "Wait! Is Finn a mouse?" She asked confused.

Rachel looked at Brittany making an incredulous face before shaking her head to continue. "Anyway, I just can't stand her voice anymore."

"She talks funny. It seems like she always have an egg in her mouth."

Rachel laughed "Whatever it is, it sure stinks every time she opens her mouth."

They shared a laugh.

"Finn wants me to quit my job." Rachel stated flatly, "the thing is – I don't want to stay at home the whole day. It's not me."

"Now you'll have more time to audition."

"I'm pregnant Brittany."

"But it's hard to tell, nobody will know you're pregnant."

"Yeah, I get the role and start the rehearsal then months later when it's the play's opening I'm gonna be huge."

"Maybe there's a play that needs a pregnant woman."

"No." Rachel sighed shaking her head. "I'm gonna keep this job for a while. I just can't leave now that I have just move in to Finn's apartment. That wouldn't be right."

Rachel settled that plan in her mind.

* * *

That night Rachel called her dads, she still hadn't told them what had happened to her apartment and that she had moved in to her baby's dad place so she thought she shouldn't delay the news any more.

"Hi Daddy" Rachel spoke softly, sitting on the couch resting her elbow against the arm.

"Hey sweetheart, how's my little star and little grandchild doing?" Leroy asked. She could tell he was in a good mood, which she was glad.

"We're fine daddy" She replied with a smile, looking down to her belly caressing it.

"We haven't heard from you, since last weekend, your father and I were getting worried" He stated. Rachel felt guilty about forgetting to call her parents, but so much had happened in the past few days that she couldn't think properly.

"Right, it's cause something happened."

"I'm sorry Daddy; it's just that I've been really busy – with working and moving."

In that moment Finn walked into the living room, he sat on the couch with a bottle of beer in his hand.

"What? Is something with the baby?" Leroy asked, sounding worried.

"No - no, dad. We're fine" She assured him quickly "It's my apartment" Finn's ears peaked up when Rachel mentioned the 'dad' word. He assumed she was going to tell her fathers the news in this exactly moment and he wasn't sure what to think of that.

"What happened to your apartment?" Her father inquired.

"The storm - kind of destroyed it."

"What? And where are you now?" She could hear his voice had altered.

"You see, Finn the father of the baby offered me his guest bedroom." Finn coughed at the mention of his name, sensing some sort of confrontation coming.

" Rachel, you can't just up and live with a stranger. You should come back home. Your father and I can pick you and move your things to here. We can make a beautiful nursery. It will be wonderful!" Leroy spoke, trying to convince his daughter of moving back to their house. They wanted to protect their little girl and grandchild.

"No, Daddy! I appreciate your offer but New York is my home now. It's where I belong." Rachel said firmly. She loved her dads for always being there for her but she was going to become a mother soon, she had to take care of things on her own.

"Fine … Then" Leroy conceded and Rachel was relieved. "Can I speak to him?"

"Huh? What? Who?" She asked confused.

"Finn, the father of your baby" Leroy responded simply "Isn't he there?"

She eyed Finn who had stopped watching the game on the TV to listen to her conversation "Uh – yeah … Just a second"

She held the phone to him who looked at the object and then back to her with wide eyes. "Daddy wants to talk to you" She told him sweetly.

"What? Rachel," He started, shaking his head. He honestly didn't know what to say to her father and he was afraid of not making a good impression over the phone.

"Please Finn, I told him I'm living here and now he wants to talk to you." Rachel pleaded, her beautiful brown eyes were staring at him with such intensity that it was hard for him to say no to her. He could tell that if they had a daughter and she was just like Rachel, she was easily going to get everything she wanted from him. He was screwed.

"What should I say?"

"Just talk to him."

"Fine." He finally grabbed the phone. "Hello, Mr. Berry." He said in a deeper voice and Rachel looked at him with a frown.

"Hello, Finn..."

He heard her dad trail off so he completed. "Hudson, I'm Finn Hudson."

"So, my daughter just informed me that she's living there with you."

"Yes, she's staying in the guest bedroom that used to be my brother's bedroom. It's a large apartment." Finn explained nervously, scratching the back of his head. He really hopped he wouldn't say anything stupid to Rachel's father.

"And what exactly happened to her apartment?"

"Well sir, there was a window in her bedroom that had a crack, so after the storm on Friday, the window broke completely and the rain invaded the room destroying most of her things" Finn explained as he remembered the state of her bedroom when they arriving at the apartment. He saw Rachel looking down sadly, probably remembering occurrence.

"Oh my God! Rachel could have been there" Leroy gasped at the thought of his daughter and the risk of that.

"No, no. She wasn't there at the time" Finn assured Rachel's dad, "it was because of the storm that I had offered her to spend the night here since I live near her work. When we got there the next day, the storm had stopped and that's when we accessed the damage."

"Thank you for that, Finn. You have no idea how her father and I worry about her safety, and now the baby's as well."

"I can guarantee you that from now on I'm going to take care of Rachel and our baby." Finn said truthfully. He had started to feel very protective over Rachel, and it wasn't only because she was expecting his baby. There was something more.

"I always tell her that she can come back."

"With due respect Mr. Berry; Rachel is a grown woman who can make her own decisions. If she thinks that this is her place, then she knows it. Plus, I want to be a big part of my child's life, so we will figure things out together." Finn said certainly, Rachel smiled as she watched him talk to her dad.

"If you're two are certain of that then I respect your decision, but like I've told my daughter - I'll tell you now; if you guys need anything you can always count with us."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate." Finn responded with a smile, more relieved to know they also have Rachel's parents support.

"No problem. It was nice talking to you. I hope to meet you in person someday."

"You too, sir. We should get together soon … dinner maybe?" Finn said naturally. The conversation with Rachel's dad wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

"Please call me Leroy. Could I speak to Rachel again?"

"Okay, Leroy. And of course, please hang on a second." Finn said handing the phone back to Rachel.

Finn grabbed the bottle of beer and sat back on the couch more relaxed; picking up where he left off, as Rachel talked to her dad for a little longer.

"Thank you!" Rachel squealed, scooting closer to Finn on the couch to hug him. He was surprised at first but then relaxed, enjoying their embrace.

"You're welcome." He said when she sat back on her knees, still facing him. "But now it's your turn to convince my mom she won't need to move in here with us."

"Why?"

"She'll probably think we'll need help."

"Really?"

"If I know her well and I'm sure I do, she'll probably want to live here with us till the baby is born."

"You're exaggerating Finn." She scoffed, not believing that.

"Help me convince her that we can do it on our own and we're good."

* * *

Another day of work and Rachel had to deal with the same old things.

When Rachel's shift had ended, she decided to wait for Finn outside the mall, instead of sitting on the bench outside the store, where she would have to look at the face of the other sales women gossiping about her.

She was paying attention to the parking lot waiting for Finn, until she heard a few familiar voices behind her. She could tell it was Quinn and her little group. '_Weren't they supposed to be working?'_ Rachel wondered to herself.

"She's probably waiting for the father to come pick her up. She's probably turned him into her slave." Rachel rolled her eyes at the comment "_Were they doing that on purpose?_" She could hear what they were saying perfectly.

Rachel then turned around facing the group. "You know I can hear you" She stated, sounding annoyed.

"But I wasn't telling a secret" Quinn said. "Everyone knows you trapped a guy"

"I'm not trapping anyone. I'm not like you" Rachel retorted. She knew she shouldn't let them get to her but she was tired of taking their crap in silent.

"Obviously… We have nothing in common."

"Exactly… Luckily for me, I don't need to put up with you anymore."

With that, Rachel turned around and walked away from them as fast as possible not bothering to look up, missing the tall man who had passed by her.

"Rachel?" Finn called out her name.

She didn't want to look back so as she spotted where his car was parked, Rachel continued walking to the vehicle's direction without saying a word hoping Finn would get the memo.

Thankfully, he followed her to his car and when they got inside, Rachel sighed. Her hands were shaking.

"Rachel? What happened? Are you okay?" Finn asked concernedly.

"Just drive me home, please." She replied, her voice a little shaky.

He did as he was told.

Getting to the apartment, Rachel sat on the couch and put her hands on her face as she started to cry.

Finn walked to the couch and sat next to her "Rachel, are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

She looked at him, her face already red from crying "Could you get me some water please?" She said softly.

"Of course" He got up immediately and ran to the kitchen to get a glass of water for her, returning moments later "Here you go," She took it from him, whispering a "thank you".

He waited a few minutes for her to compose herself till he spoke again. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Do you wanna tell me what happened?" Finn tried again.

"Okay" She said taking a deep breath. "I quit my job"

"Oh that's awesome" Finn cheered and Rachel looked at him in disbelief.

"Awesome? That's not awesome; it's the opposite of awesome" She exclaimed. "What am I gonna do now?"

"You don't need to work, Rachel. I can take care of you two" He said simply with a crocked smile. She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"Finn, I can't let you do that. I already refused money from my dads, I can't let you take care of me." She said. "Otherwise I will feel like I trapped you."

"What do you mean?"

"The other sales women where I work- or should I say, worked, they kept talking about me behind my back saying that I had trapped you because you have money." She told him sadly.

"But we know that's not true."

"I know that Finn. But just because I don't have a job anymore doesn't mean I'm gonna stay in bed the whole day."

"What are you saying?"

"That now I'm gonna work on something else. Like cleaning the house," Rachel suggested.

"I can call the cleaning lady."

"There's no need for that anymore. From now on I'm gonna be in charge of that."

"But isn't too dangerous?" Finn asked, wondering to himself if it was a good thing she left her job, at least there she only stayed standing up and talking to the clients.

"I'm just gonna clean the dust, I'm not gonna be hanging around windows." Rachel replied dryly. She didn't have her dads with her in New York but apparently Finn was going to be doing the job for them.

"But you're pregnant." Finn said exasperatedly, not finding a better argument.

"Yes?"

"There's no way I can talk you out of that huh?"

"There's no reason for that," Rachel shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine. Now tell me what exactly happened that you left running from the mall."

"I had a talk with the other sales women," Rachel started and Finn nodded his head for her to continue. "They have been insinuating that I have trapped you, so they kept making mean comments about me behind my back and they even care that I heard them."

"Did you quit because of them?"

"Not only that. There were other reasons that I'm sure you're aware of, but I kept brushing them off till now."

"I just hope you know that I never felt that way about you" Finn told her honestly "Sometimes I feel like I'm trapping you" He confessed timidly.

Rachel looked up at him with a surprised expression. "Why?"

"Look at you," Finn said, motioning to her. "You're so talented. You're supposed to be after your dream, at Broadway. But now you're stuck here with me." He said, looking down at his hands.

"Finn, look at me." She asked softly, waiting till he did so before continuing. "I didn't give up on my dream to be on Broadway. It was just delayed." She assured him with a tiny smile.

"You promise that?"

"I promise." She said.

* * *

The next day Finn got up and headed to the bathroom but stopped in the hallway when he heard noises coming from the living room. He walked toward there to found Rachel with a duster in her hand cleaning center table; he didn't even know where she found that.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a confused expression.

"I'm cleaning the room." Rachel said naturally, not stopping what she was doing.

"But why so early?" He argued.

"Early? It's seven thirty." Rachel replied, looking at the clock on the wall.

"Exactly."

Rachel ignored his comment and kept cleaning the room.

"Okay, can you at least take a break now and join breakfast with me?"

"I've already had breakfast."

"At least to keep me company. Come on. I'm sure the baby will want some more waffles."

She looked at him with narrow eyes. "You just want me to get big so I can't move."

He laughed. "You got me."

During breakfast, Rachel shared with Finn the schedule she had made with what she was going to do each day. Besides cleaning the apartment, it was included doing the laundry, grocery shopping, cook and a few other things. Although Finn did not agree with that, he opted for not confronting her.

There was a knock on the door so Rachel went to open it. On the other side, she found a man she hadn't seen before. He seemed to look surprised at first, seeing her being the one to open the door but quickly smiled as he spoke to her.

"You must be Rachel." He deduced, remembering how his friend had described her.

"And you are?" Rachel asked in confusion, wondering how this guy knew her name.

"I'm Puck. I'm Finn's friend." He introduced himself.

"Your name is Puck?" She questioned, repeating the name wondering if she had heard it right.

The guy shook his head chuckling. "No, my name is Noah Puckerman but everyone calls me Puck." He explained.

Rachel nodded in understanding. "I hope you don't mind me calling you Noah." She stated, thinking Noah was a much better name than Puck.

"It's fine."

"It's very nice to meet you Noah." She greeted him politely.

"You too"

"Please come in." Rachel offered, opening the door wider to let him inside. "Finn is in his bedroom getting ready." She informed him with a smile. "Would you like to drink anything?" Rachel offered politely.

"No. I'm good." He said before plopping on couch, getting himself comfortable. "So how's the pregnancy?"

"It's been great so far."

"Cool." He said. "Look, I know we don't really know each other but Finn's my boy … so just so you know you can count with me and my girlfriend Allison to babysit any time you guys need." Puck told her in a serious tone.

"Thank you Noah. That's very nice." Rachel replied honestly, touched by his words. She thought he had a bad boy vibe but seemed to have a good heart. In that moment Finn walked into the living room to find his best friend talking to Rachel.

"I guess you guys have met each other?" Finn concluded, making his presence known.

"What's up bro?" Rachel watched the two guys greet each other before Finn turned to her.

"I'll be back in a couple of hours, call me if you need anything." He told her before leaving the apartment with his friend.

Rachel said goodbye to them and when they left, she went to her bedroom to change herself. She was going to the mall to talk to her ex-boss since she didn't even spoke with anyone after she had left the mall yesterday.

* * *

Finn and Puck went to a dealership because Puck wanted to buy a new car for him. The two friends talked about Finn's current situation as they looked the different types of car.

"Didn't you want to go out with her?"

"That's when I was a single guy and she was a single girl, now we're both parents-to-be. It's more complicated."

"I don't see the complication. You guys are expecting a baby and living together. You two are practically married."

"Saying it like that sounds so simple. But it's not like that."

"I'm just saying that because you seem into her." Puck commented.

"What are you talking about?" Finn asked.

"Dude, you were totally looking at her with doe eyes." Puck said.

"No, I was not." Finn denied.

"Whatever, man" Puck shrugged, not totally convinced but decided to drop the subject for now "What about this one? It looks badass." He approached the red car to take a better look at it. It was bigger than his current one.

"That's a great choice, sir. And I can make you a great deal." The seller man said.

"Allison says I don't need another car because we live in New York but I don't care. I'm so gonna buy this baby." Puck said patting the hood of the car.

Finn chuckled, shaking his head.

* * *

On Thursday, Finn received an unexpected visit in his apartment.

"Kurt? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard the news that you have a new roommate, so I came to check it out for myself." Kurt stated walking inside. "Nice apron by the way." Kurt said sarcastically but Finn ignored it.

"You talked to Puck? I swear you two gossip way too much." Finn groaned.

"Yeah, yeah whatever" His brother dismissed his comment, only focusing on the somewhat new and somewhat pleasant design of the living room. "I have to say this looks so much better now, and smells great too." He added. "You can tell there's a feminine touch."

"Yeah, Rachel brought some stuff from her place and we changed some things."

"I'm shocked there aren't any socks on the floor, food on the center table. Even when I paid the cleaning lady to come every two weeks it didn't look this clean - especially on a Friday night" Kurt stated. "And no beer bottles on the floor? Color me surprised." Kurt exclaimed, placing a hand on his chest dramatically.

"Yeah, well since Rachel is living here now, she makes sure to clean the apartment even though I told her I could paid for the cleaning lady to come, but she said she wanted to so I try to help, so she doesn't have to work much"

"Really?" Kurt eyed his brother, perplexed.

"You came here just to inspect on the design of the apartment?" Finn asked annoyed. "I'm kind of busy; I'm helping Rachel cook dinner."

Before Kurt could respond, Rachel walked out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Finn? Who's at the door?" She looked up "Oh hello Kurt! Nice to see you again" She said brightly.

"You too, Rachel." He smiled at her. "I was just commenting with Finn on how the changings look great. You have a great taste." He complimented her.

"Thank you!" She beamed. "I thought this place needed a feminine touch to look homier." She explained and Kurt eyed his brother with a smirk but Finn averted his eyes.

"So how has it been living here?"

As Rachel and Kurt continued their engaging conversation, Finn watched their interaction rolling his eyes. They were talking totally ignoring his presence in the room.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Rachel invited and Finn quickly looked at her with wide eyes. '_What was she doing?_' He thought to himself.

"The menu for dinner tonight is completely healthy, since I have exaggerated a little on lunch today."

"Oh, what is it?"

"We're making mushroom stroganoff with pasta."

"I love mushroom!" Kurt exclaimed, clapping his hands.

"Wonderful." Rachel beamed. "Come on, Finn. Let's finish dinner."

Finn could hear Kurt chuckling from behind and glared at his brother.

If Finn thought he was being ignored by both of them at first, by dinner he felt like a third wheel. All he could hear was them talking about Broadway and Barbra Streisand. He wouldn't admit it out loud but he actually liked that they're getting along. He turned his attention to his food, stuffing his mouth with mushrooms as he listened to them talk about another Broadway show.

It was getting late so Kurt excused himself, saying he had to go. Finn could tell Rachel looked pretty tired but tried to mask it.

"Thank you for inviting me. Dinner was great. The food was superb."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Kurt."

"I'll see you two at Carole's birthday?" He asked.

"We'll be there." Rachel confirmed.

After Kurt had left, Rachel walked to the table to get the plates. Seeing her yawn tiredly, Finn walked over there and grabbed the plates from her "I'll wash the dishes. Go sleep"

"Thank you. I'm gonna brush my teeth and then head to bed" She announced "Goodnight" She placed a soft kiss on his cheek before walking out.

"Night you two." He replied with a smile watching her leave the room.

After he was done with the dishes, Finn went to his bedroom to get ready for bed.

When he lied on the bed, the phone on his nightstand rang. "Hello?"

"Finn? How come you didn't tell me that Rachel was living with you?" Carole demanded.

Kurt probably had told his mom that when he found out from Puck. Finn face palmed at the thought. He shouldn't be surprised by that though, if he knew his brother, he probably called his mom right in the elevator after leaving the apartment.

"Sorry, mom" Finn apologized, rubbing his face with his hand tiredly.

"You didn't even tell me if she was coming for my birthday party" Carole remarked. She had been waiting for a response since the day she had talked to her son about it.

"Oh I completely forgot about that"

"So you haven't asked Rachel yet?"

"No, no, I did! And she said she was going." Finn announced.

"Really? That's wonderful." Carole beamed, happy to hear that. She was looking forward to meet Rachel personally.

Finn grinned, knowing his mom would be thrilled with the news. He didn't know why Rachel thought otherwise.

"All the three of us are going to be there on your birthday." Finn stated with a smile.

Carole teared up at the thought of her son bringing his new family to her birthday party.

Carole was sure that was gonna be her best birthday yet.

* * *

**Next: Carole's birthday!**

**Please read a review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm only posting a new chapter now because I've been working on my other fic (TSTIL), but if this chapter gets more reviews I promise to post a new one sooner. :) Big thanks to FinchelGleek4ever for beta-ing this chapter.**

**Chapter 6**

Sunday morning, Rachel and Finn were getting ready for Carole's birthday party. Well, Finn was ready, currently sitting on the couch watching TV while waiting for Rachel.

"Finn?" Rachel called out from the hallway, hoping he had heard her.

"Yes?" He responded, somewhere near, she guessed.

"Can you come here, please?" asking as she left the door open, so he knew that it was okay to come in.

"Sure," he said as he stood up from the couch, walking down the hall. "What's up?" He asked as he stepped into her room.

As he walked into the room, Rachel was looking at herself in the mirror, before she turned around and took a step forward to show her dress to Finn. "What do you think? Does this look okay?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

Finn took a better look at her; she was wearing a flowery dress, tapered under her chest and flowed down a few inches above her knees, her shoes with small heels. He smiled "You look amazing," he said with a lopsided grin.

"Thanks," she smiled, her cheeks flushing lightly. "It's getting more difficult to find dresses that still fit me."

"Well, it looks great on you." He assured her, not taking his eyes off of her petite figure. The dress might hide her small bump but definitely showcased her long legs in the best way possible.

"I guess I need to go shopping for maternity clothes soon," she stated as she observed herself in the mirror; unaware of Finn staring at her legs.

"I'm sure Kurt would love to go too, any chance of him going shopping makes him happy," shaking his head as he stopped staring at her legs and looked up at her face.

She laughed lightly. "I'd love to have a shopping buddy."

"Don't get so excited, Kurt takes shopping very seriously."

"I don't mind. I need to upgrade my wardrobe. I've not gone shopping much since I've moved here, and I worked in the mall!" she remarked, thinking back to how busy she was during her college years. The last time she went shopping was with Brittany. Brittany decided that Rachel needed party clothes, which was way too revealing for her. Needless-to-say Rachel didn't frequent those parties.

"He'll be ecstatic to hear that. He loves a good challenge." Finn chuckled, "You ready?"

"Yep," she grabbed her purse and cardigan off her bed and followed him out of her room. Rachel was excited to meet Finn's family, especially his mom.

* * *

The drive to the Hudson-Hummel residence was quite long, so Rachel asked Finn more about his family, trying to get a feel of what they were like and how to act around them. Finn reassured her that they would like her, but it didn't hurt to prepare herself.

After a few stops (bathroom breaks for Rachel), they pulled up in front of a big house. Finn put the car in park and looked to Rachel, as she stared at the house. "Well… this is it," Finn said. He got out of the car, going around opening Rachel's door; he held out his hand to help her out of the vehicle; grabbing his Mom's gift from the back seat (the one Kurt made him buy).

They walked toward the door; Finn's hand rested on Rachel's lower back, gently guiding her forward. As they reached the door Finn was about to ring the doorbell, when he looked over to Rachel; their eyes met – she smiled and nodded that she was okay. Just as his finger started to push the button, the door opened.

A lady with a bright smile and short red-hair opened the door "I thought I'd heard a car out here, so I came to see," she smiled "So glad the both of you came!" Carole cheered.

"Happy Birthday, Mom!" Finn said to his mother who hugged him tightly. It had been a couple of months since he had visited her.

"Thank you, honey."

Rachel stood there watching everything with a bright smile on her face. Finn took a step back, breaking their embrace. "Mom, I'd like for you to meet Rachel," his hand finding its way to the small of her back, as she stepped forward.

The petite brunette held her hand out to shake Carole's. "Happy Birthday Mrs. Hummel; it's so nice to finally meet you."

"Thank you sweetie, but please – call me Carole. It's great to meet you too!" Carole stated with a tender smile, making Rachel relax more. And instead of shaking the younger woman's hand, Carole stepped forward and hugged her. Rachel couldn't tell exactly what it was but she had never felt this kind of warmth before.

"Come on in – let's go join the rest. They're all out back," Carole said as Finn and Rachel stepped into the house.

"Where do you want your gift?" Finn questioned as he held up the shiny bag.

"I'll take it and put it with the rest," Finn reached the bag to her. "You know you didn't have to. You coming and spending the day with me – is enough," she smiled.

They walked through the house to go join the rest in the backyard. Rachel walked slowly taking in her surroundings – the décor, the sounds, the smells. She noticed how the house was bright with lots of windows, contrasting with the dark wooden furniture from the living room and dining room that connected to each other with French doors, which led outside.

"Rachel! I'm glad you came." Kurt strode in her direction to hug her. "Let me introduce you to my boyfriend." He stated, leading her to the backyard where Blaine was eating some appetizer.

"Finn?" Carole called out, noticing that this was her chance to talk with him in private as Rachel stepped away with Kurt. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Finn nodded – he turned his head and smiled back to Rachel; he followed his mom to the dining room. "Mom, is everything okay?"

She glanced around at her surroundings, making sure they were the only ones around, before she spoke. "I just wanted to talk to you in private for a minute… you know – no interruptions," she searched his eyes and smiled. "Well… since you told me about Rachel and confirmed that she was coming with you, I told everyone that you were bringing your girlfriend." She said naturally.

"You what? Mom!" He groaned.

"What did you expect me to say? They surely would ask who she was and I wasn't going to say she was your baby mama." Carole retorted, whispering the last part.

"Wait. You didn't say she was pregnant, did you?" Finn questioned with wide eyes.

"Of course not! I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable around our friends and family with them making so many questions about her pregnancy. Only the four of us is enough." She stated, meaning her, Burt, Kurt and consequently his boyfriend.

"That's good enough." Finn agreed.

"She looks lovely, Finn. She's glowing already." Carole commented with a grin, seeing through the glass window the tiny brunette talking to Kurt and Blaine outside.

"I know," Finn smiled as he watched the way Rachel played with her hair, as she talked with Blaine and Kurt.

He noticed that she kept looking toward the house, which meant she must have been looking for him. He glanced back to his mom and said, "I better get out there and introduce her to everybody else". Carole smiled and nodded.

"And I'm gonna go find Burt." Carole said before they parted to different directions.

Finn stteped out of the house and approached the trio who were talking about last Thursday night when Kurt had dinner at their apartment.

"Kurt couldn't stop talking about the food." Blaine commented.

"You should come visit us; I could totally cook for you guys." Rachel offered excitedly.

"Oh I'd love that." Kurt cheered.

That was his queue, Finn thought. "Rachel, can I talk to you for a sec?" He interrupted the conversation.

"Sure." She nodded and Finn guided them near the house so they could talk privately.

"So, I was talking to my mom and she told me that she told everyone that we're a couple." Finn blurted out. He kept his body in front of her, her back to the wall, so nobody could figure out what they were talking about.

"What? Do they know I'm..." She trailed off.

"No! No! She didn't mention anything; she just thought that since you were coming with me, she thought it was better to say you were my girlfriend. I'm sorry, please don't be mad." Finn pleaded, hoping she wouldn't be uncomfortable with the idea of pretending to be his girlfriend in front of his family.

"It's fine, Finn. Really." She assured him. "I can understand why she did that and I can't even blame her for that. It's an unusual and complicated situation."

"So it's cool for you?"

"Yes," She nodded. When she had agreed of going to his mom's birthday party, she had only imagined having to meet Carole and Finn's step-father. It didn't cross her mind that family and friends would be there too. But now she was there and she didn't think it'd be so bad hanging out with them. It wouldn't be so bad to pretend to be Finn's girlfriend for a few hours. That was better than telling the truth.

"Good." He sighed, laughing relieved. "But now we have to act like a couple."

"Right." She nodded, looking down to the ground.

"Is this okay?" He asked her, noticing how she thought about it for a minute before looking up at him with an assuring smile.

"Yes, Finn. That's the only way to make people believe that we're together." She stated matter-of-factly.

"You're pretty cool, Rach." He said with a lopsided smile

"Thank you." She beamed, not minding to use her acting skills in a different circumstance. She liked a challenge.

Finn took her hand into his and smiled. "Come on; let me introduce you to my stepdad, Burt". Her hand was so tiny compared to his. As he took her hand, a spark was sensed between them, but they both brushed it off. Finn discreetly looked down at Rachel, as she was looking at the ground, biting her lip.

They made their way to a table where Burt placed a tray full of cupcakes that Carole had just told him to put there.

"Oh look who showed up!" Burt stated as he spotted his step son coming in his direction.

"Hey Burt!" The two men greeted each other with a hug.

"And you must be Rachel. I've heard a lot about you lately." Burt stated, smiling at her.

"I hope good things." She laughed lightly.

"Absolutely, welcome to the family."

"Thank you." Rachel said with a smile. She had met Finn's parents and brother and they all seemed really nice and welcomed her right away. So far so good, Rachel thought to herself.

"Have you guys eaten anything yet?" Burt asked the couple.

"Not yet, I wanted to introduce Rachel to everyone first," Finn said

"Eat first, introduce later." Burt chuckled. "They're not going anywhere… anytime soon."

"The pasta looks delicious." Rachel commented.

"Go ahead and help yourselves. I'm gonna go talk to the other guests." Burt excused himself, leaving Finn and Rachel by themselves.

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Yes, but no alcohol." Rachel reminded him.

"Right" he smiled, leaning down to give her a quick peck on the cheek, surprising Rachel. Then she reminded herself that that was part of their agreement.

Finn brought Rachel a drink, while they ate and talked for a few minutes till a couple walked into their direction.

"Hello Finn. Long time no see." A tall man with gray mustache said.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here." The blonde woman beside him stated.

Rachel noticed how Finn didn't look too pleased to see the older couple.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Dawson. It's nice to see you again." _Not really,_ Finn thought to himself.

"And who's this young lady?" The woman inquired, turning to Rachel who smiled brightly at her. Rachel was ready to put her acting skills in practice.

"This is my girlfriend, Rachel." He introduced, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and she automatically placed hers around his waist.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you two." Rachel greeted the married couple naturally.

"I think it's the first time you showed up with a girl. I thought you were like your brother." The man laughed at his own joke and Rachel had to contain herself and not roll her eyes.

"Greg!" His wife scolded him.

"It's fine." Finn brushed off. He felt Rachel's tiny hand rubbing his side which made him relax, he looked down at her and they smiled at each other. They were already communicating with each other without saying a word but it went unnoticed by them.

"How long have you been together?"

"Three months." Finn said naturally, mentally patting himself on the back for that.

"So it's starting to get serious." She hinted.

"I guess so."

"Wonderful."

"Okay, if you excuse us. We need to talk to the other guests," Finn excused themselves, ready to leave the annoying couple behind. He had never liked them and never understood why his mom still invited the two of them to her birthday party.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"It was nice meeting you, Rachel." The woman said.

"Likewise." Rachel said as they walked away. Leaning closer to Finn she commented, "That was interesting."

"They've always been like that."

"I don't think I like them." Rachel stated, scrunching her nose.

"You and me both." He agreed. "But we were pretty good, huh?"

"We were! I was very surprised by how quickly you responded to her question." She said, nudging him with her hips.

"Well, it was the first thing that came to my mind." Finn said, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.

Burt came back again asking Finn if he could help him with something. He looked at Rachel a bit unsure but she quickly reassured him that he could go and said she'd go back to talk to Kurt and Blaine.

It took longer than he had imagined and when he returned to the backyard, he quickly spotted Rachel talking to Kurt and Blaine. The three of them had bonded rather quickly, Finn thought.

"Kurt, Burt wants to talk to you."

"I bet he has forgotten the name of the present he's going to give to Carole." Kurt stated, shaking his head.

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"A pashmina."

"Dude! You made Burt buy my mom a pashmina?" Finn scolded.

"Do you even know what that is?" Kurt defied, crossing his arms.

"Of course not. But I'm sure Burt wouldn't know it either."

"Oh like Carole doesn't know I'm the one behind both of your presents. She actually thanks me." Kurt revealed.

"What?" Finn exclaimed in surprise.

"Let's go Kurt," Blaine interrupted the brother's argument by taking Kurt's hand, leading him inside the house.

"Can you believe him?" Finn said to Rachel who was still chuckling. "You think this is funny?"

"Yes, I do." She confirmed with a giggle. Finn shook his head but laughed too.

In that moment, an old woman walked towards them, Finn was distracted but Rachel noticed someone approaching them so she turned to look at who it was and Finn did the same.

"Oh hello Ms. Gilmore." The tall guy greeted the smaller woman with a hug; his knees bent a little to hug her properly.

"You boy keeps getting bigger, I'm telling ya." She said after they broke their embrace, looking at him from head to toe.

"It's great to see you again, Ms. Gilmore." He said excitedly, taking a step back to place an arm around the younger woman who was watching the scene with a grin on her face.

"I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend Rachel." Finn spoke, squeezing the petite brunette softly to his side. "Rach, this is our family's neighbor but also more than that, Ms. Gilmore."

"What a beautiful young woman." Ms. Gilmore gushed, holding Rachel's face with both hands. "You two are gonna have a gorgeous baby."

"Wait, I didn't-" Finn quickly started to explain himself, looking from Ms. Gilmore to Rachel.

"It's okay Finn. We have talked before." Rachel assured with a small giggle, amused by his alarmed expression.

"You told her?" He asked, still confused.

"No, she just knew." Rachel shrugged, glancing at the older woman who winked at her.

"How did you know?" He asked to Ms. Gilmore, looking confused.

"Finn, I was able to tell that she's pregnant by the moment I saw her. She's glowing and I know those things." She said before continuing. "I promise I won't tell anyone about it."

"Thanks." Finn said with a crooked smile.

"Ms. Gilmore told me a few stories of when you were a kid." Rachel stated with an amused face.

"Oh no, and I thought I should only worry about my mom." He groaned, already embarrassed just to think of what she might've said.

"They weren't so bad." Rachel comforted him, rubbing his arm.

"Yes, I didn't tell that one time where you peed on my couch for watching a scary movie even when I told you not to." Ms. Gilmore said.

Rachel laughed even more at that and Finn just flushed red. "That's why you don't want to watch scary movies with me, huh?"

"That's not the reason." Finn huffed.

"Okay. Now, excuse me. I need to go freshen up." Rachel said politely. "Again, it was lovely talking to you Ms. Gilmore."

"You too, honey."

Rachel left and Finn followed her with his eyes till she went inside the house.

"Look at you, all smitten."

"What?"

"I know you very well, Finn. And it's clear that you like her." Ms. Gilmore concluded.

"Of course I do. She's awesome, and is carrying my child."

"You know what I mean." She said. "I know you very well and just by talking to her today I can say that she's perfect for you."

"How can you tell that? Isn't it too soon?" Finn questioned.

"Nothing is too soon when it comes to love." She said simply.

Finn didn't think it was so simple. "We're still getting to know each other and on top of that, we have a baby to raise together."

"You guys are going to be great parents. It won't be easy but you guys can always count with your family and me, of course." Ms. Gilmore could only assure him that. Everyone was going to help them with baby, but they'd have to deal with their feelings by themselves.

"Thanks, Ms. Gilmore. It's good to know."

* * *

Meanwhile Rachel walked inside the house and asked Carole where the bathroom was; the pregnancy made her go pee every hour.

Carole showed her the bathroom upstairs that was more comfortable and then she told the younger woman that she would be in the kitchen.

As Rachel left the bathroom to go downstairs, a tall blonde woman came toward her. "You must be Rachel." The woman said in a distance tone, eyeing Rachel from head to toe.

"Yes. And who are you?"

"I'm Janice. I'm the family's neighbor and Finn's ex." She responded, giving emphasis on the last part.

"Right. It's nice to meet you." Rachel said, politely. She wanted to walk toward the stairs but the blonde was blocking her way.

"So are you guys just gotten together? Finn had never mentioned you." Janice inquired, the smile on her face not reaching her bright blue eyes.

"Yes, it's pretty recent." Rachel confirmed shortly secretly hoping someone would show up to rescue her.

"Where did you guys meet?" The blonde questioned, not bothering to move.

"At a party." Rachel responded evenly, crossing her arms.

Rachel felt awkward standing there with the eyes of the woman boring on her figure. She silently hoped Janice wouldn't notice that she was pregnant. To Rachel's luck, the other woman was focused on something else.

"You know, Finn wanted me to go with him but I didn't. We were pretty close." It was clear to Rachel that the woman in front of her was trying to make her jealous but she didn't know exactly why. _Did she still have feelings for Finn? _

"And why didn't you?" Rachel asked, unable to help herself.

"I don't know. Sometimes I wonder what could have been if I went with him." Rachel sensed a hint of sadness on the other woman's voice and this time she could tell Janice was being honest.

Before Rachel could make more questions to Janice, somebody showed up in the hallway looking for her.

It was Kurt. "Hey Rachel, can you come here?" He asked. She should feel relieved but she didn't mind keep talking to Janice, she was curious, but perhaps it was better this way.

"Excuse me," Rachel said politely before following Kurt.

* * *

The conversation Rachel had with Janice made her think. She didn't want to get in the way; if Finn really liked that girl then she would let him know that she was fine with it. He had never mentioned her to Rachel, she wondered if it was a sore subject or just the fact that they hadn't have talked about their past relationships. Rachel wanted to find out.

"I talked to Janice." She stated, noticing how he quickly turned his attention to her, looking tense.

"Really?" He asked surprised.

"Yes, she made sure to tell me she was your ex." She laughed lightly.

"Sorry about that." He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed.

"It' fine." She said. "She told me you asked her to go with you."

"It was a crazy idea. I was a kid." It was when they graduated highschool, Finn didn't know what to do but he knew he didn't want to stay behind, so he went to New York with Kurt. He didn't regret his decision at all.

"Do you still have feelings for her?" Rachel asked.

"No! I never did to be honest. We were just kids who lived next each other."

"She seems like she still likes you," Rachel paused and looked away for a second, trying to regain some composure. "You know, if you think about what could've been - maybe you should try."

"What are you saying?" Finn asked confusedly.

"Look Finn, I know that your mom said that we're dating but if you want to date other people, it's fine. I don't want you to feel like you own me or that you can't see anyone. Especially because it's easier for you, it's not like anyone would want to date me."

"Rachel, no… I don't want to date her. I told you, it was just like a stupid kid crush or whatever. She likes to think it was something much more than it actually was. Believe me. Also, how come nobody would date you?"

"Because I'm the one pregnant and guys tend to not want to be with someone who's having someone else's baby. Believe me, it happened." Rachel stated dryly, that took Finn by surprise.

On the one hand_, _he felt bad because Rachel would not only have to delay for her auditions but also not have a relationship with another guy; but on the other hand, he liked it because he didn't want any guy near her and their baby, he knew it was horrible and selfish of him but he didn't care. Dating other people was not on top of the list at the moment.

"That sucks. But I don't mind being single, right now I wanna focus on the baby. I didn't have many good dates either so I'm good for now." He shrugged.

"Okay. I just wanted to set things straight." Rachel clarified, not only to Finn but to herself too. Even if it was easier said then done.

"Okay."

They stayed in silence for a moment before she spoke. "Were they really bad?" She asked, scrunching her nose.

"Or boring." He added.

'Maybe it's you." She teased.

"That's not very nice to say something like that to the dad of your child." He said close to her ear so nobody could hear it. He couldn't help but smell her hair. _So good._

"Aw, poor thing." She said, patting his cheek. They easily felt more comfortable at the change of subject.

They interacted naturally unaware of people watching them.

* * *

"I brought you guys here because I wanted to talk to you two without interruption." Carole guided the pair inside her bedroom. She instructed them to sit down on the edge of the bed while she sat on the arm chair near the them.

"So how's the pregnancy, sweetheart?" She asked, patting Rachel's knee affectingly.

"It's been good."

"Are you eating well? Remember now you're eating for two."

"Sometimes I think she's eating for five." Finn blurted out, laughing.

"Finn!" His mother reprimanded him. He quickly apologized, smiling sheepishly.

"It's true. I like to eat, but healthily." Rachel explained.

"Well, you look great." Carole complimented and Finn nodded his head in agreement.

"Thank you." Rachel said shyly.

"Now tell me how is it living together?" Carole asked looking between her son and Rachel, who looked at each other. Finn nodded his head, motioning to Rachel that she could respond that.

"It's working out pretty well, actually." Rachel said honestly.

"Rachel is an awesome roommate!" Finn exclaimed.

"You know I could go live there for a while to help." Carole suggested.

"We are fine mom, there's no need." Finn said.

"But thank you for the offer." Rachel added.

"Well, you two can always count with me. Don't ever hesitate on calling me."

"Thank you, Carole. That means a lot to us."

"No problem, sweetie. Now tell me more about how it has been," Carole inquired and Finn and Rachel looked at each other once more before Rachel started to talk about her pregnancy. Rachel liked to talk about it to someone else other than her doctor.

"Did you kick much? Finn used to kick so much." Carole laughed, pointing to her son.

Rachel faced dropped but she replied. "I don't know. I've never really met my mom."

"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry. How insensitive of me," Carole apologized, feeling guilty.

"It's okay. You didn't know." Rachel assured her.

"Rachel has two gay dads, mom." Finn informed to his mom who nodded her head.

"I see. So you've never seen your mother?" She asked Rachel.

"I've tried to reach out to her a couple of times, but she didn't want to talk to me." Rachel said quietly, feeling a little embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry." Carole said, getting out of the chair to sit next to Rachel on the bed, wrapping her arm around the younger woman. "But I can assure you that it was her loss."

"Thank you." Rachel said, placing her head on Carole's shoulder, feeling the warmth of a motherly hug for the first time. It felt nice, Rachel concluded, closing her eyes and letting the tears fall down on her cheeks. She didn't know if it was because of the pregnancy hormones or if it was because it was the first time she felt like that, probably both, Rachel decided.

Breaking the embrace, Rachel smiled shyly at Carole, who gave her a warm smile. "No need to thank me, I'm being sincere." She said, wiping the tears off Rachel's cheeks.

They walked downstairs so they could sing happy birthday to Carole.

It was getting late and Rachel was feeling a little tired so Finn thought it was time to leave. They said their goodbyes to his family and his mom walked with them to his car.

"Thank you for coming, sweetie. And thank you for giving me the best birthday present." She said, hugging Rachel.

"I had a great time as well." Rachel told her.

"Feel free to come visit us anytime you want. You hear me Finn?" Carole called her son, who was putting the bag with food in the backseat of the car.

"Yes, mom. I promise to come visit you more often." He said closing the door of the vehicle to go talk to his mom since Rachel was already inside.

Mother and son said goodbyes and Finn begged her to stop when he saw Carole tearing up but she only laughed in return.

Finn got into the car and drove off. Ten minutes into the drive, he noticed how Rachel had been quiet, only responding to his questions with 'yes' or 'no'. He frowned, knowing that something was upsetting Rachel.

"What's going on Rach?" He asked, turning to glance at her.

"Nothing." Rachel tried to brush it off but he could hear her voice cracking up a little.

"Come on, you can tell me." He insisted.

"I just really loved your family. All of them were so genuinely nice and welcomed me with open arms. It was overwhelming but in a good way." She laughed at her own response, wiping off the tears. This pregnancy was making her very emotional, she didn't want to look at Finn right now; she felt a little silly for acting that way.

Finn couldn't help but grin at her confession. He was starting to get worried; to hear the real reason made him feel at ease. Although he could tell that she was not.

"Hey," He called out for her softly, she turned around slowly and he could see her face was red and a little wet from the tears. She still didn't look up at him though, but he continued. "I'm glad that you loved them and you better believe that they adored you too. I knew you were going to get along."

Only then she looked at up at his face, smiling shyly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Finn gave her a lopsided grin. He saw her yawn and said, "You must be tired."

"A little bit. I think I'm gonna take a nap." She said before closing her eyes.

He looked at her, staring a little while at her sleeping. The road was free so he was able to take his eyes off for a moment to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, letting his long fingers wandering over the soft skin of her face.

Finn turned his attention back to the road. It had been an awesome day with his family, but he was glad to go back home.

* * *

Carole walked back to the house as Burt strode from the kitchen.

"I thought you had gone with them." He joked.

"Well, I actually had offered to live with them." Carole informed.

"That doesn't surprise me." Burt said in amusement.

"Give me a break. It's my first grandchild and I'm very excited about."

"You know, I'm not even going to ask which present was your favorite."

"You're right, although Kurt did pick great presents."

"What? What are you talking about?" Burt pretended that he didn't know what Carole was talking about.

"Oh, like you don't know! I know that is Kurt behind the presents," Carole said, crossing her arms.

"Wait, I picked that cashmina for you." Burt scoffed and Carole burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" Burt questioned, trying to sound annoyed.

"The right name is pashmina" Carole corrected her husband between laughs and Burt couldn't help but join her.

"It's funny cause I never thought about having grandchildren, but since you've told me the news I am kinda liking the idea of being a grandfather more and more." Burt confessed.

"It's definitely something I've wanted but I wasn't expecting it to be so soon given the fact Finn didn't have any girlfriends but it was a pleasant surprise."

"Can we go lay down and watch tv?"

"But we have to clean up the rest."

"Kurt and Blaine can do that. We need to be relaxed for when the baby comes."

"This is true." Carole laughed, following her husband.

* * *

**What do you guys think? Pleas read and review! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Finn was sleeping peacefully in his bedroom when he felt something nudging his arm lightly, not giving much thought he just rolled over to the other side of the bed.

When Rachel had first walked into his room to wake him, she started by whispering his name a few times. It didn't work out, he didn't even budge. Then, she nudged his arm which made him move but not really wake up.

"Finn." She called his name again, this time a little louder and shook him a little harder. That worked.

Finn sat up straight, looking around. "What? What?" He asked confusedly. "Rachel, is the baby okay?" He asked, looking from her face to her belly a few times.

"Yes Finn, the baby is fine." Rachel assured him, caressing her own belly. "But its wants ice cream."

"Oh. Isn't there some in the freezer?" His eyes were closing again.

"Not anymore." She responded sheepishly. "And the baby wants Blueberry Cheesecake flavor this time." She informed him.

"Okay." He said with a yawn, rubbing his eyes tiredly. As she observed him, Rachel couldn't help but feel guilty for waking him up at this time of the night to buy her ice cream.

"Nevemind, I don't want to trouble you, please go back to sleep," Rachel spoke, ready to leave his room, but before she could move he quickly held her wrist.

"No, no no. I'll get the ice cream. It's my job as the father." Finn swung his legs around to the edge of the bed. The blanket pooled around his waist, as he sat there for a minute to get woke up properly; before his feet touched the ground. He quickly threw the cover off of him and stood up. Rachel watched as he stood; her fingers played with the knot of her robe and she cringed when she finally took a look at the clock. 'The baby could not have picked a better time, huh?' She mused to herself.

"Just let me get dressed." He said, walking over to his closet, grabbing a pair of jeans and a jacket to put on. She bit her lip, trying to squash the thoughts that raced through her mind; turning around quickly to give him some privacy.

After he was dressed, Finn walked over to Rachel and made her turn around to face him. "You just sit here and wait. I'll be right back." Finn said; his hands on her shoulders guiding her to sit on his bed.

He grabbed his keys and wallet before exiting the apartment. As he walked inside the elevator, he took a look at his image in the mirror. "I look like a zombie." He groaned, tapping his face lightly to wake him up. He better start to get used to wake up in the middle of the night, because that was just a little preview of what's to come.

Twenty minutes later and a few pints of Blueberry Cheesecake ice cream later, Finn walked through the door of the apartment. He hung his jacket up, throwing his keys on the counter, as he grabbed Rachel a spoon in the kitchen. He walked to his room and was surprised that he found her sitting on the bed, exactly where he had put her. She was shaking her legs from one side to the other to keep her distracted.

"Hey." He said softly. "Here's your ice cream." He said, handing the carton to her.

"Thank you." She beamed as she crossed her legs Indian style and took the spoon from him. "The baby thanks you too" she giggled.

"Anytime." He grinned; watching her as she quickly opened the tub of ice cream and started eating. "I'm gonna put these in the freezer." He said before leaving her in his bedroom enjoying the ice cream.

As Finn put the ice cream in the freezer, his stomach started to growl; having been woken up in the middle of the night kind of made him hungry. He opened the refrigerator door, instantly grabbing the lunchmeat, cheese and mayo to make a sandwich. He finished eating his sandwich and went to the bathroom to pee and brush his teeth.

As he walked into his room, he found Rachel asleep. He smiled at the sight of her tiny figure curled up on his king size bed. He pulled the covers over her, tucking her in carefully to not wake her up. For a split second he thought about lying down on the other side of the bed, but one he was afraid that he'd roll over and accidently crush her in the middle of the night, so he decided to go sleep on the couch.

He grabbed one of the pillows from the bed and a blanket in the drawer before heading to the living room. He settled himself on the couch and quickly drifted to sleep since he was pretty tired.

* * *

The dim room. The darker walls. The back pain. Rachel scanned the room and realized that she wasn't in her room, let alone her bed. She sat up on her elbows, spotting the ice cream carton on the nightstand, remembering just a few hours prior, when she had craving and woke Finn up to go to the store to buy her some ice cream.

Her feet hit the floor; stretching trying to rid the pain in her back. Boy did she miss her bed. _'Mental note, talk to Finn about his bed.'_ She thought. Thinking of Finn, she turned back toward the bed, realizing that he wasn't there. She began wondering where he was.

Curious as to where Finn had slept last night, Rachel got out of the bed and exited the bedroom, quietly walking into the living room, when she heard his snoring.

Spotting him lying on the couch, his blanket half on the floor, half (or somewhat) covering his leg, his right arm hanging off and his mouth open drooling on the pillow.

Rachel had to laugh at the image in front of her. '_Would it be too bad to take a picture of him like that? Probably,'_ she concluded. After all the poor man woke up in the middle of the night to buy ice cream - even though it was for _their_ baby. Plus, she felt asleep on his bed and instead of going to her bedroom, he opted the couch.

She would let him sleep some more while she took a shower and then she would fix breakfast for them.

As Rachel was fixing their breakfast, she thought back to the other night at dinner.

_They were sitting at the table eating dinner, talking about what they had done that day; Finn talking about work and Rachel talking about the sales that she found while at the grocery. When she mentioned to Finn that she had a doctor's appointment coming up. _

"_Cool! Do you mind if I go with you?" He asked excitedly. _

"_Of course, Finn!" She had to admit that the idea of him going to the __doctor's appointment with her was __thrilling. Sure it could be a little awkward too, but it was going to be great to share that amazing experience with him._

_This time it'd be different, since the previous time she went to the doctor's she was very worried about raising a kid on her own. Thankfully, things had changed for the better since then._

"Morning." A very sleepy voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Smells good," he said as he walked closer to peer over her shoulder.

"Morning," she smiled. "Breakfast is almost ready. Can you reach the plates, please?"

"Sure." Finn opened the cabinet door and grabbed two plates, placing them on the counter. Rachel turned around, holding a pan and placed the pancakes on the plates while Finn grabbed the juice from the refrigerator and filed the glasses.

They sat to eat. "What time is the appointment?" Finn asked as he added a good portion of maple syrup on his pancakes.

"It's 3:30pm. Is that okay?" Rachel asked, wondering if he had marked something else.

"Yes, I can get out of work sooner." He nodded, thinking he should probably add that on his agenda to not forget.

"Good." She smiled, a little relieved.

"How many times have you been there?" Finn inquired, curious to know more about Rachel's pregnancy. That's something they were gradually talking more about as they got closer.

"A couple of times." She reminded the first time when she had just seen the positive result on her pregnancy test and the second when her dads insisted to make sure everything was okay.

"So you have seen our baby." Finn said more in a statement than a question.

"Yes. I told you, Finn. It was right after I found out I was pregnant."

"And we can't see the sex of baby today?"

"No, they can't usually tell that until about 18 weeks."

"Will we want to find out by then?"

Rachel looked pensive for a moment before replying. "We'll have to talk about that." The thought of being able to plan everything ahead of time was appealing to her but she needed to think about it some more. They still had plenty of time to decide though.

* * *

Before leaving work Finn called Rachel, telling her he was on his way to pick her. She was waiting for him as he pulled up; he noticed her carrying a one-liter bottle of water, along with her purse.

As soon as she buckled, she opened the bottle of water and guzzled it (practically). She had done this all the way to the doctor's office.

Finn noticed that Rachel had been drinking more water than usual (in a short amount of time, anyways) as they made their way to the doctors. "Why are you drinking so much water?" Finn asked watching her drink all the bottle as he drove them to the doctor.

"It's very important to drink water," she stated, taking another sip. "but today I'm drinking more than usually because I need it for the ultrasound." Rachel responded.

"Huh?" Finn frowned. "I don't get it."

"I need to go in with a full bladder, so the doctor can see the baby clearer on the ultrasound. The more water I drink, the better he will be able to see 'her'." She explained.

"I get it. I guess. So you can't pee before the exam, only after?"

"Correct." She nodded her head.

"Man, that must be rough." He stated.

She snickered. "Men don't hold it for so long, you guys pee anywhere after all. You wouldn't be able to hold it for very long."

"Hey, I can hold it." Finn defended.

"I doubt it."

"What do you mean?"

"You peed on the way to Carole's house, the other day." Rachel said. "You said you were going to make a phone call to Kurt and the phone wasn't working in the car but I knew you went to the bushes to pee."

"How do you know that?"

"Because you were impatiently tapping the wheel and contorting your face; when you came back you looked relieved."

"I could have been doing something else."

"Oh yeah? What exactly?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I could… Umm … I c-could," he tried to think of something not perv'ish, but that was all that came to his finally admitted "Okay fine you got me."

"I knew it." She said triumphantly.

* * *

When they arrived at the doctor's office, Finn followed Rachel as she led him down the hallway to the elevator. Taking it to the second floor, where Rachel entered an office, almost immediately.

Finn watched as Rachel signed in. The receptionist smiled "Hi! How are you? May I help you?"

"My name is Rachel Berry. I have an appointment at 3:30 with Dr. James"

"Ahh … Yes, here we go" she said as she made notes in the computer. "Have you drank plenty of liquids today?" The older lady asked, as she looked back at Rachel.

"I have" Rachel stated.

"Okay, just have a seat – the doctor will be with you in a few minutes."

Rachel smiled "Thank you" she turned toward the waiting room, noticing that Finn had already found them seats. She walked over, sitting her purse down; pulling out the already empty water bottle, taking it over to the water cooler and filling it up, before taking a seat next to Finn.

"What now?" He asked her, tapping his fingers on his thighs.

"We wait." Rachel responded simply, grabbing a magazine to read.

They stayed there for what it seemed hours but it was only a few minutes. Finn was getting impatient. He nervously flipped through a few magazines, but none of them were interesting; most were women's magazines. His leg bobbing up and down, from the nerves as he watched people passing by. He noticed there weren't many men there beside a couple of doctors that walked out of the elevator at some point. He felt a little out of place, wondering if he was supposed to be there in the first place. But then he saw a couple walking out of one of the rooms and he wondered if Rachel wouldn't mind if he went inside with her.

He kept looking over at Rachel out of the corner of his eye who was reading a magazine.

"Rachel?" he asked, watching her place the magazine in her lap. She turned and smiled "C-can I come in with you?"

"Of course, Finn." She replied easily with a smile. Noting his unsure expression, she grabbed his hand in hers and looked at him in the eyes. "I'm really glad you came." She told him honestly.

That made Finn relax instantly. "Me too." He gave her a crooked smile.

What the parents-to-be hadn't noticed was how important it was having each other's support. Going throught this together was what made them feel safe. They may hadn't noticed yet but they could definitely feel that.

They waited for what seemed like forever, before Rachel's name was called. She stood and smiled at the nurse.

"Come on." She smiled, reaching her hand out for him to take, hoping that it would at least calm him some. He looked up at her and smiled, grabbing her bag from the floor before taking her hand.

Entering the exam room, the nurse spoke first. "Rachel, how are you feeling?"

"Good." She said, still holding Finn's hand. She smiled at Finn, noticing that he kept wiping his free hand on his pants.

The nurse wrote down some more information from Rachel. "Okay, well the doctor will be in shortly." Finn and Rachel watched the nurse walk out.

"Do we have to wait more?"

"Not much." Rachel promised, sitting on the examining table and patting the chair next to her motioning for him to sit next to her. She took her cardigan out of her purse and put it on. It was cold in the office.

The doctor entered not long after Finn took a seat. "Miss Berry, welcome back. How are you?"

"Good. Thank you. Dr. James, this is Finn Hudson, the father of… of our baby." the doctor smiled and reached her hand out to shake Finn's.

Finn wiped his hands again on his pants, standing before shaking the doctor's "Nice to meet you." He said nervously.

"Same here. Glad that you could make it." Dr. James said. He could tell she looked a little surprised by his presence, he just didn't know why but Rachel gave a shy smile to the other woman so he brushed it off for now.

The truth was that Rachel confided her situation to the doctor the first time she met her. Dr. James was super understanding and told her everything Rachel wanted to know about her pregnancy.

The doctor asked several questions, as she looked over Rachel's chart. Finn quietly listened to patient and doctor talk. He learned a lot about Rachel and the pregnancy, while listening. Even though he and Rachel lived together, there were things about the pregnancy that he didn't know. It wasn't because he didn't want to _know_, because he did, but it was because he didn't know _what_ to ask.

"Okay Rachel" Dr. James said "Are you ready to see your baby?" Both Finn and Rachel nodded and smiled. "Okay, I'm just going to lay you back." She said as she pushed a button to recline the table "And Finn, if you want, you can move your seat up next to Rachel's head."

The doctor stood on the opposite side of where Finn was sitting. She pulled the machine toward the head of the bed; adjusting the screen so she could see. She rolled Rachel's shirt up above Rachel's bump. "Okay Rachel, this is going to be cold" she said just before she squirted the gel onto Rachel's belly.

Finn watched as the doctor squirted the gel onto Rachel's belly. He heard Rachel gasp; he grabbed her hand "Does it hurt?" He asked in concern when he saw her flinch.

Rachel shook her head "No … No, it's just cold." Regaining her breath – reassuring him as the doctor smoothed the gel over her belly.

Finn's eyes left Rachel's face, turning it toward the screen as he heard the 'swooshing' of the ultrasound, as the wand ran over Rachel's belly. He watched intently, grabbing Rachel's hand. "I-is everything okay?" he asked the doctor.

The doctor turned her head and smiled at Finn. "And here it is. Just what we're looking for," she pointed to the screen showing them the fluttering of the baby's heart.

Finn and Rachel smiled; tears filled their eyes, at the sight of their baby. Finn squeezed Rachel's hand, she squeezed back. They watched as the doctor moved the wand across Rachel's belly some more. "And here your baby. He or she is growing well and looks very healthy." The doctor stated as she continued to move the wand. The heartbeat steady and growing louder, filled the room each second.

"That's our baby." Finn whispered in awe, his eyes fixed on the screen as he held Rachel's tiny hand in his.

"Yes, it is." Rachel whispered back, the tears falling on her cheeks. Even though Rachel had seen their baby before, she couldn't help but cry every time she saw the baby and how much it had grown.

They left the hospital on cloud nine.

* * *

The ride back home was quiet; the ultrasound still on their minds; only speaking a few times, but sharing glances and sweet tender smiles from time-to-time. Their connection had grown in just a few short hours, only making Rachel sure of something she had been thinking about for days now.

* * *

As they arrived back home, Rachel quickly made a bee-line to the bathroom, again – even though she'd went to the bathroom right after the appointment. Finn couldn't help, but laugh. He grabbed them something to drink and a snack. They met back on the couch, munching on their snack while talking about their doctor's visit. The conversation went quiet; Rachel turned to face him before she spoke.

"Finn, I know that you're respecting me and my body; letting me feel comfortable around you and I appreciate that." Rachel stated as she looked down at her hands, now playing with the hem of her shirt. "I also think it's important for the baby to hear and feel the presence of _both_ parents." She raised her head, now looking at him in the eyes. He could tell that she was still a little unsure of what she was about to say, but he knew better than to cut her off, so he let her finish her thoughts. "I usually talk and sing to the baby. I was very musically verbal since I was born, thanks to my dads. And I read in a magazine that it's good for the baby," she said, brushing her bangs with one finger. "a-and if you're interested, you can do the same."

"What's that mean?" Finn asked staring at her.

Rachel looked so vulnerable, speaking timidly. "You can touch my belly if you want to."

"I want to." He responded automatically nodding his head but he didn't move. He waited for her to make a move.

Rachel bit her bottom lip, then took his large hand in her tiny one and placed it over her swollen belly, both gasping at the first contact. They stayed like that for a moment, Finn didn't move, still unsure of what to do, so Rachel squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile before letting go of his hand.

Only then Finn started to move his hand over her belly, smiling at the memory of seeing their child for the first time. Today he had not only seen their baby but now he could feel it and even talk to it. Right at that moment it felt even more real.

Finn kneeled in front of Rachel. "Hi baby, this is your daddy." Finn spoke, lowering his head down to talk more closely to it. "Mommy and I went to see you today. You're very strong,"

Rachel watched the scene contently, letting Finn enjoy this moment with their child.

"This is the first time I'm talking to you but I promise to do it a lot more, you better get used to my voice." He chuckled, turning up to Rachel who nodded her head, encouraging him continue so he licked his lips and started talking again. "Although I don't sing as beautifully as your mother, I might try singing for you too, just don't hurt your mom if you don't like it." He laughed lightly at his own joke, getting more comfortable with this new thing, and seeing that Rachel felt the same.

After spending several minutes talking to the baby and caressing Rachel's belly, Finn heard her stomach growling.

"Sorry, we're hungry." Rachel said sheepishly and Finn chuckled.

"What do you two want to eat?" He asked, sitting up straight on the couch.

Her eyes were bright with excitement. "Hmm, I need to think." She replied, taping her finger on her chin with a pensive look on her face. "Oh, how about Chinese food?"

"Chinese it is then." Finn concluded, clapping his hands together.

"Great! I'm gonna take a shower before we eat." Rachel announced before exiting the room, heading to her bedroom.

In the bathroom, as she took her clothes off, Rachel placed one hand on her lower belly remembering the way it felt to have the contact of Finn's hand there. She didn't feel uncomfortable, it actually felt quite right. Like they were all connected.

When Rachel found out she was pregnant, she was worried that her child wouldn't know its father. Knowing without a doubt that she would give him or her all of her love and attention, she also knew that it was important for the baby to grow up knowing/with both parents, if possible.

"Mommy and daddy love you very much." Rachel whispered.

* * *

When the food arrived, Finn placed it on the coffee table in the living room; placing the cushions on the floor to sit, like they usually do when they stayed in the living room watching whatever was on TV. Finn liked this.A lot.

When he lived with Kurt, some days he would get home, drink a beer and fall asleep on the couch. Waking up, only to eat the rest of the pizza and then moving to his bed. It wasn't nice, but he was always too tired to care.

Now that Rachel lived with him, he ate dinner properly and took a shower before going to bed. He started those habits because of Rachel. He liked it. _Really liked it._

It was the first time he had ever lived with a girl.

He had roommates before, in college he lived with a few friends and they didn't mind each other's mess. Then when he graduated, he lived with Puck for some time and then Kurt. It was completely the opposite living with the latter two.

But this time was different. He and Rachel worked as a team. He did things for her and she did things for him. They took care of each other some way or another.

Finn was more responsible and older now, near his 30s, so that helped although Rachel still had to tell him some things, like put down the toilet lid.

Rachel walked back into the living room wearing her comfy pajamas and beamed when she saw the coffee table set.

They ate dinner while, watching a movie. It was getting late; Rachel stood up to take the leftovers to the kitchen but Finn told her he would do it.

It was a Rachel thing. She always wanted the place to be neat. She had told him that she had learned from her dads that you should take care of the things you own. And that was another Rachel thing; she'd always tell him the reason why.

Rachel was about to head to her bedroom but Finn held her wrist. "Thanks, Rach." Finn told her with a smile.

She only nodded in response, knowing what he was talking about. "Night Finn."

"Night."

When Finn laid his head on his pillow, Rachel's scent infiltrated his nostrils. He realized that it was the same pillow that she had slept on the previous night. He liked the smell; smiling as he buried his nose into the material. He liked it. _Really liked it._


End file.
